Student Involvement
Medical Students
As a student-run free clinic, the UKSAC depends on you! Apart from serving a population in need, volunteering at the UKSAC will allow you to interact with experienced physicians and gain early clinical experience. The clinic is staffed primarily by M1 and M2 students who serve as floor managers and patient interviewers, but medical students of any year are encouraged to volunteer! During each clinic, there are four student positions available: one floor manager position and three patient interviewer positions. Student volunteers are always supervised by an attending physician. In addition to a great learning experience, volunteering at SAC is a way to help underserved populations in our community.
Jobs and Roles at the Clinic
Interviewing
The three patient interviewing positions are available to M2s, M3s, and M4s as well as M1 students who have floor managed at least once and have completed the Spring training session that focuses on interviewing. The interviewing positions simulate the environment of clinical rotations. You will see the patient alone to obtain the chief complaint, HPI, PMH, family history, and perform a focused physical if necessary. You will then present your patient to the attending physician or resident and come up with an assessment and plan together. You and the physician will then see the patient together before discharging him or her.
Volunteering as an interviewer, especially during the second half of your first year, is really the only opportunity you will have to see a real patient, one-on-one. This experience is invaluable as it not only prepares you for the format of clinical rotations, but it also exposes you to aspects of the medical field that you do not get in the classroom.
Interviewing
The three patient interviewing positions are available to M2s, M3s, and M4s as well as M1 students who have floor managed at least once and have completed the Spring training session that focuses on interviewing. The interviewing positions simulate the environment of clinical rotations. You will see the patient alone to obtain the chief complaint, HPI, PMH, family history, and perform a focused physical if necessary. You will then present your patient to the attending physician or resident and come up with an assessment and plan together. You and the physician will then see the patient together before discharging him or her.
Volunteering as an interviewer, especially during the second half of your first year, is really the only opportunity you will have to see a real patient, one-on-one. This experience is invaluable as it not only prepares you for the format of clinical rotations, but it also exposes you to aspects of the medical field that you do not get in the classroom.
Floor Managing
Floor manager volunteers are primarily first year medical students. On clinic nights, the floor manager arrives and opens the clinic, organizes patient charts for the evening, and makes sure all exam rooms are ready for use. As the interviewers and physician(s) arrive, the floor manager orients them to the clinic and the scheduled patients. When patients are ready to be seen, floor managers are responsible for rooming them and obtaining all the necessary vital signs. They record these and relay the results to the interviewers and the volunteering physician(s). Additional responsibilities of the floor managers can vary based on the nature of the clinic on that specific evening - depending on how far the M1 students are in their training, they may assist with completing the patient interview or may perform components of physical examinations.
Floor managers are essential to maintaining the flow of the clinic and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. They are often some of the first volunteers that patients encounter when visiting the clinic, and they quickly become familiar with community health resources that are available to low-income patients in the Lexington area. Volunteering as a floor manager enables students to develop crucial problem-solving and patient care skills that otherwise cannot be learned in the classroom, which greatly contributes to the students’ preparedness for future clinical experiences and clinical rotations.
Floor Managing
Floor manager volunteers are primarily first year medical students. On clinic nights, the floor manager arrives and opens the clinic, organizes patient charts for the evening, and makes sure all exam rooms are ready for use. As the interviewers and physician(s) arrive, the floor manager orients them to the clinic and the scheduled patients. When patients are ready to be seen, floor managers are responsible for rooming them and obtaining all the necessary vital signs. They record these and relay the results to the interviewers and the volunteering physician(s). Additional responsibilities of the floor managers can vary based on the nature of the clinic on that specific evening - depending on how far the M1 students are in their training, they may assist with completing the patient interview or may perform components of physical examinations.
Floor managers are essential to maintaining the flow of the clinic and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. They are often some of the first volunteers that patients encounter when visiting the clinic, and they quickly become familiar with community health resources that are available to low-income patients in the Lexington area. Volunteering as a floor manager enables students to develop crucial problem-solving and patient care skills that otherwise cannot be learned in the classroom, which greatly contributes to the students’ preparedness for future clinical experiences and clinical rotations.
Basic Operations
The UKSAC sees eight patients per night on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30pm until close (roughly 9:00pm). Patients are seen on a first-come, first-serve basis and may sign up at the front desk of the SA Lodge from 4:30-5:30pm. Typically, we see eight patients per clinic night. Extra patients can be added to the list only if their need is great and the attending physician agrees. The clinic is not well-equipped to deal with emergency conditions, so such cases are referred directly out to local Emergency Departments. All clinic staff—triagers, interviewers, floor managers, and physicians—are volunteers.
Basic Operations
The UKSAC sees eight patients per night on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30pm until close (roughly 9:00pm). Patients are seen on a first-come, first-serve basis and may sign up at the front desk of the SA Lodge from 4:30-5:30pm. Typically, we see eight patients per clinic night. Extra patients can be added to the list only if their need is great and the attending physician agrees. The clinic is not well-equipped to deal with emergency conditions, so such cases are referred directly out to local Emergency Departments. All clinic staff—triagers, interviewers, floor managers, and physicians—are volunteers.
Undergraduate Students
Pre-medical students interested in gaining valuable experience interacting with patients are encouraged to apply for the triage position. As a triager, the student will arrive at the clinic at 4:30 p.m. and perform one-on-one intake interviews with registered patients to obtain a variety of information. Students who triage a number of times throughout the year are eligible to apply for floor manager privileges in the spring. Additionally, undergraduate students may be asked to participate in special clinic projects throughout the year. If you are interested in volunteering as a triager, please send the triage manager a message at triage_manager@uksac.org.
Pharmacy Students
Pharmacy students who volunteer at SAC have a unique opportunity to gain experience in not only the dispensing of medications, but also in conducting medication histories and medication counseling. With the help of the pharmacy preceptor, the student is also able to provide the medical students and physicians with medication knowledge,as needed. Each clinic night we have two student volunteer positions available, and we encourage our pharmacy students of any year to participate. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Elizabeth Ghory at elizabeth.ghory@uky.edu.
Social Work Students
Social work students receive real-world experience with patients at the SAC and grow in their skills of assessment and trauma- informed social work. As a social work student, you will perform assessments with registered patients to inquire about housing and financial situations, as well as experiences of trauma, and current state of mind, etc. Participating students volunteer twice a month on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This opportunity also provides volunteers with the chance to improve their skills in inter-professional teamwork, note taking, and community resource knowledge. If interested, please contact one of the 2 co-managers.