On any given Saturday morning, students of the U’s School of Medicine can be found on 400 West in Salt Lake City, running a small health clinic for the state’s homeless.
The Fourth Street Clinic runs like a regular doctor’s clinic during the week, with paid physicians and nurses exclusively serving the homeless population. Each Saturday morning, first- and second-year medical students have a chance to manage and volunteer at the clinic and get real-life experience as they interview patients and learn how to diagnose their problems.
The clinic was started in 1988 by Allan Ainsworth, a second-year medical student, because the health care needs of the homeless were not being met, said Katherine Poruk, a clinical study assistant in the U’s department of neurology. Poruk serves as one of 10 student managers who run the clinic Saturdays.
“The clinic as a whole really provides (the homeless) a place where they can go and get their symptoms treated,” Poruk said.
Health problems make it difficult for homeless people to find jobs, which prolongs their homeless situation, so access to free health care impacts their quality of life in a positive way, Poruk said.
Tammy Nguyen, in her first year in the medical program and a student manager of the clinic, said that volunteering at the clinic has helped her gain a more realistic idea of what homelessness is like. She said she has noticed many patients are only recently homeless because of the bad economy and come to the clinic because they need help, but they genuinely try to look for work and keep themselves healthy.
“They are not really looking for a free handout,” Nguyen said.
Volunteering in the community has become important to Nguyen, who said that when she has more technical skills as a physician, she hopes to make donating time to those who need help a long-term commitment.
The Saturday morning clinics supplement the medical students’ education. Henry Tran, a second-year medical student and a manager, said it’s good for the student volunteers to get some hands-on experience. Aside from the 10 student managers, any medical student can sign up to volunteer, and those who sign up vary each time, with a usual rotation of two student managers and six to eight students at the clinic each weekend.
“It really helps us to get out of the classroom and not go crazy from studying the hard textbook stuff,” Tran said. “It’s useful to be exposed to this population that has a very unique set of needs compared to patients usually seen.”
An attending physician helps the students Saturday mornings as they practice interviewing, writing patient histories and diagnosing problems, Tran said. Students also learn by watching the doctor interact with patients.
Jillian Wong, a second-year medical student, said that the patient-doctor interaction has made a big difference in her understanding of how to work well with patients.
“It reminds me how much I enjoy clinical work and how much I want to be a doctor,” Wong said. “Making a patient happy makes my Saturday wonderful.”
The Saturday clinic is free for patients, but the clinic relies heavily on government grants and donations that come in other forms. Oasis Café and Whole Foods donate vegetables, pastries and fruit to the clinic every weekend for the homeless community, Wong said.
Outside of the Fourth Street Clinic, the student managers are trying to raise money for a flu shot clinic and hope to get funding from ASUU for it.
For now, the Saturday clinic keeps them busy.
“It is an eye-opening experience because we don’t realize how lucky we are to have health insurance and people who support us,” Wong said. “It reminds me how important it is to give service.”