OUWB’s student-run clinic marks 5 years

当庞蒂亚克加里·伯恩斯坦社区健康诊所的学生免费诊所注册表可用时, OUWB 学生 fill all the volunteer slots in minutes. 

The reason is simple: for most medical 学生, 这是他们第一次有机会在临床环境中与患者互动——以一种与OUWB对社区的承诺一致的方式.

In 2021, 学生免费诊所(SRFC)庆祝与加里·伯恩斯坦社区健康诊所合作服务社区五周年.

“这个诊所让你如此兴奋和快乐，(你意识到)这就是我做这个的原因,’”迈克尔·穆萨说, an M3 who works at the clinic.

“这非常有活力，也非常人性化……为之服务是一种荣誉，我们学校在提供这些机会方面做得很好。.”

Other 学生 share similar sentiments.

“When you’re in your M1 and M2 year, you really don’t have many clinical experiences at all, so that in and of itself makes the experience very rewarding,尤瑟夫·易卜拉欣说, M3临床顾问 and part of the leadership team at the clinic.

“最重要的是, you see patients who are from an underserved community; it’s rewarding seeing them come in and finding help in places that they otherwise wouldn’t have thought help was available.”

“(Medical 学生) really want to feel like a doctor, and I think this gives them an opportunity to do just that,Srikala Yedavally说, D.O., assistant professor in the OUWB Department of Family Medicine & 社区 Health and advisor to the SRFC.

‘A nice, caring learning opportunity’

In 1997 — and after 20 years as a cardiologist — Gary Burnstein, M.D., began providing care for patients at a homeless shelter in 庞蒂亚克.

Following his death in 2003, 伯恩斯坦的朋友, 家庭, 和其他人聚集在一起，通过建立加里·伯恩斯坦社区健康诊所来纪念他对社区的贡献.

Primarily funded by grants and fundraising events, the nonprofit clinic is housed in a 7,000平方英尺, state-of-the-art building at 45580 Woodward Avenue, 庞蒂亚克. 志愿者医生, 牙医, 药剂师, 学生, and administrators allow the clinic to provide for about 3,每年到诊所看诊000次.

本院家庭医学门诊于每月第一个星期四晚上举行. 每月的第三个星期二晚上，我们会开设妇科门诊. 

通过定义, 学生开办的免费诊所是“为我们社会中那些可能负担不起这种服务的人免费提供护理的机构”. 这些诊所的工作人员是志愿者，他们寻找机会为没有保险和无家可归的人提供护理，同时通过现实生活中的病人护理丰富他们的教育.”

在美国医学院校协会的141个成员机构中，有106个设有该协会, though not all models are the same.

OUWB的SRFC家庭医学诊所是通过其家庭医学兴趣小组于2015年开发的. 当时的前提与现在基本相同:为OUWB的学生提供一种方式，在当地服务不足的地区做志愿者. The first clinic was held in March 2016. Since then, about 400 patients have been served.

There are advisors like Yedavally, 但, 顾名思义, it is otherwise an operation overseen by OUWB’s future physicians.

“学生s run the whole thing,” says Yedavally. “他们 are not only learning the medical aspect of it, 但 they are also learning the business aspect of medicine. 例如, 他们必须与不同的学生兴趣团体进行大量的谈判, 不同的医生, and even with the clinic itself. 这些对年轻人来说是非常具有挑战性的技能，很难适应和发展.”

Leadership consists of second-year medical 学生. 他们, and the other M2 to M4 volunteer 学生, 管理学生注册, organization of the clinic, 学生的作业, and run a debrief at the end of each clinic.

Generally during each clinic, 学生到达, 有一个简短的介绍, and are assigned to 病人护理 teams (triage, 病人护理, 行为健康, 西班牙语翻译, 或药房). Each team is led by an M3 or M4 with M1s and M2s shadowing. 团队成员根据需要向Yedavally和其他志愿医生反馈.

During each shift, about eight to 10 patients are treated. Just like any other primary care office, many patients seek help with chronic disease management, 比如糖尿病, 高血压, 等.

“It’s a nice, caring learning opportunity,” said Ibrahim.

‘Those little things we see in clinic’

Yedavally, 同时担任家庭医学本科医学教育(UGME)的见习主任, 她说，参与OUWB SRFC的学生“精力充沛”，“真的很想亲自动手”.”

“他们 want to learn as much as they can, whether or not they end up going into primary care,她说。. “他们希望尽早(在医学院)获得看病的经验。, and be involved in running the clinic.”

Sarah Provencher是M2，目前与Tiffany Loh(也是M2)共同担任董事.

“我对参与学生开办的免费诊所很感兴趣，因为我喜欢为社区服务，庞蒂亚克肯定有这个需求,她说。. “As a student, I thought it was a great way to fill that need.”

易卜拉欣说，作为诊所的一部分，提供了一种独特的教育体验，这是无法从讲座或书本上学到的.

“It teaches compassion and humanism,他说. “我们看到病人来了，他们非常愿意让我们学习……这是一种相互的尊重，他们依赖你，你也依赖他们。, 也. It’s a type of experience you won’t find anywhere else.”

朗道尔, M3临床顾问, 回忆起最近一个病人表示有兴趣申请警察学院，但被发现有高血压，首先需要解决.

“我们不一定要在学校里学习如何处理这类病人,他说. “That’s where a lot of value comes in…those little things we see in clinic.”

贾斯汀·布罗克斯，M.D., CEO and executive director, Gary Burnstein 社区 Health Clinic, says he appreciates the “youthful energy” that OUWB 学生 offer. 布罗克斯说，他“非常喜欢”能够看到学生们的成长.

“他们一开始非常害怕，然后你看到他们开始意识到，他们在学校里上的那些奇怪的课程实际上教会了他们重要的信息，这些信息对他们将要看到的真实的人类有应用,他说. “当他们意识到这很重要，很有价值时，你会看到他们眼中的兴奋.”

“有了这些，你看到信心进来了，现在他们可以走出去，成为可以帮助病人的人,他补充道.

展望未来

鉴于, 以及对, OUWB’s SRFC Family Medicine and Gynecology offerings, Lang says program leadership is exploring ways to expand.

Specifically, he says, talks are underway to have additional SRFCs. Lang说，希望发起SRFC妇科诊所之夜的经验能够简化今后的流程.

此外，该团队正在为该物业的社区花园制定计划.

整体, 目标是将OUWB与Gary Burnstein社区健康诊所之间的关系提升到一个新的水平.

“This is just a great resource for the school, 老实说，我们都觉得我们应该比现在更多地利用它,朗说。.