Phillip Gorrindo|Alon Peltz|Travis R. Ladner|India A. Reddy|Bonnie M. Miller|Robert F. Miller|Michael J. Fowler
Medical Students as Health Educators at a Student-Run Free Clinic
Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences|Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences|Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences|Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences|Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences|Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences|Vanderbilt University|Boston Children's Hospital|Boston Medical Center|Association of American Medical Colleges|National Institute of General Medical Sciences
studentrun free clinics srfcs provide servicelearning opportunities medical students care underserved patients published studies however support provide highquality care study authors examined clinical impact medical student health educator program diabetic patients srfcin 2012 authors retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records diabetic patients established care shade tree clinic nashville tennessee 2008 2011 compared clinical outcomes initial presentation clinic 12 months later analyzed relationship number patientstudent interactions touchpoints change hemoglobin a1c values two time points compared quality care provided bestpractice benchmarks process outcomes measuresthe authors studied data 45 patients mean hemoglobin a1c values improved significantly 96 79 mean 125 15 months p 0001 trend emerged increased number touchpoints improvement a1c values r 006 p 10 high percentage patients screened clinic visits whereas low moderate percentage met benchmarks a1c ldl blood pressure levelsthese findings demonstrate medical student health educator program srfc provide highquality diabetes care facilitate clinical improvement one year enrollment despite inherent difficulties caring underserved patients future studies examine educational clinical value care provided srfcs