Student Run Free Clinic

Contact: Gurkiran Sardar

UIC website

History:

The UIC Student-Run Free Clinic (SRFC) was developed in early 2001 when a first-year medical student, seeing a need for primary care providers for the uninsured in the surrounding community, began to look for opportunities for students to provide such care. The SRFC was established through medical student outreach to, and subsequent partnering with, a local privately funded free clinic called Community Health, whose goals are consistent with our own, that is, the provision of primary medical care to the uninsured. By partnering with Community Health, we are able to utilize their already established clinic facilities and administrative organization while, in return, providing them with the ability to offer additional patient care opportunities.

Student Volunteer Participation:

The Steering Committee of the UIC Student-Run Free Clinic recruits student volunteers from each of the medical school classes. The students work in teams. Each team consists of a first-year student, a second-year student, and a third- or fourth-year student. As a large part of our patient population is of Hispanic descent, student interpreters often aid the teams. Each student on the team participates in the patient care to the extent that they are able. Typically, the first-year student will take care of the history and vitals and the second-year student will perform the physical exam, both of which are under the guidance of the third- or fourth-year student. The student team will then develop a differential diagnosis and treatment plan and present these to the attending physician. The attending physician will work with the student team to refine the diagnosis and plan. This staffing plan challenges medical students of all levels to practice the skills that are appropriate to their training while participating in the complete clinical experience

from intake to treatment plan.