1. Clinical Outcome and Healthcare Improvement Effects of Serving as a Manager in a Student-Run Free Clinic in the Student’s Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Healthcare, and the Populations the Clinic Serves
Astrud S.A. Villareal, BS, Melissa Nelson, BS, Alvin Dawson, MA, MBA, and Nora E. Gimpel, MD
Department of Family And Community Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75390, USA
BACKGROUND
Student-run free clinics (SRFC) serve as important points of access to healthcare; especially those in resource limited settings
A 2007 study estimated that approximately 40% of the medical schools in America, at that time, had at least one SRFCs with more than 36,000 patient visits during the course of a year (Simpson 2007).
SRFCs provide medical students with the opportunity for hands-on learning in a primary care setting.
Students who participate in SRFCs have been shown to be more confident in clinical situations going forward in their training compared to peers who did not volunteer at SRFCs (Nakamura 2014).
The effects on the student’s knowledge, skills, attitudes and perceptions towards healthcare and the populations the clinics serve, resulting from their student manager role, are seldom examined.
STUDY OBJECTIVES
Objective: Determine the effects of serving as a clinic manager in a student-run free clinic in four areas - knowledge, skills, attitudes and perceptions towards healthcare and the populations the clinics serve.
METHODS
Setting: Student-run free clinics that have University of Texas Southwestern medical students as managers
Study Design: Cross-sectional
Online Anonymous Survey: Questions regarding manager demographics, clinic demographics as well as questions assessing the respondents’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and perceptions were also present (55 total questions comprised of a combination of multiple choice and Likert style questions)
Participants: The survey was offered to 77 current and former clinic managers. 57 people completed the survey for a completion rate of 74.02%.
LIMITATIONS
There may be bias towards larger clinics that have a greater number of student clinic managers
Certain questions would benefit from additional specificity in order to draw more concrete conclusions
Clinics have different intake procedures, patient visit format (individual vs. group medical student evaluation) which may influence student answers due to differing experiences
Academic standing (MS1 vs. MS4) and experience (pre-clinical vs. clinical) may influence may influence students’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and perceptions
CONCLUSIONS
Objective:
After serving as a clinic manager, the students showed an increase in the following areas:
Knowledge/Skills
Managing day to day logistics of the clinic
Teaching medical students
Working with the administration of a clinic/community organization
Knowledge of various community resources
Attitudes/Perceptions
The importance in exposing medical students to underserved populations
The importance of making a difference in underserved communities
RECOMMENDATIONS
Continued exposure/experience in student-run free clinics should be encouraged in students
Although knowledge of community resources increased in this population, additional opportunities for exposure how to best utilize community resources would be beneficial to students
RESULTS
Demographics
Survey Data
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Dr. Nora E. Gimpel and Mr. Alvin Dawson, MA, MBA
CONTACT: Dr. Nora Gimpel, Department of Family & Community Medicine, 5920 Forest Park Road, 6th Floor, Dallas, Texas