Student Life

Student-Run Free Clinics and Service Groups

Student-Run Free Clinics

The mission of our free clinics is to provide superior health care in a compassionate manner, ever mindful of each patient's dignity and individuality. To accomplish this mission, interprofessional teams call upon the skills and expertise of all who work together to advance medical innovation, serve the health needs of the community, and further the knowledge of those dedicated to caring.

We have six community clinics throughout Chicago—the West, North, and South Sides—treating uninsured patients in communities that are underserved by the healthcare system in a variety of cultural contexts: Hispanic neighborhoods, a shelter for homeless women and children, and an Asian-American immigrant population, among others. These clinics a) provide excellent patient care, b) allow our students to gain hands-on experience in both patient care and medical service, and c) provide leadership opportunities for our students in the realm of clinic management and community outreach.

Over 90% of our trainees pursue work at our free clinics and list these experiences as among the most meaningful activities of their medical school career. This service work is an investment in medical training that can serve the community at the same time: with a successful free clinic program, underserved patients in areas without accessible health care can receive treatment, and medical students can begin to build service work into their practice, integrating it into their future careers.

 

ASAP is an interactive substance abuse prevention program in which University of Chicago medical students visit local middle schools and teach 6th-8th graders about the consequences of using drugs. Teaching with healthy and diseased organ specimens, the program leaders use the natural curiosity of the students to shape small group discussion concerning drugs, the human body, and the effects of drugs on the students' minds, bodies, and life goals.  Ultimately, the program aims to empower youth to make healthier life choices regarding drugs and alcohol.

Contacts: Alex Rains and Tony Dagher
Faculty Advisor: Jon Grant, JD, MD, MPH Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

The University of Chicago Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA) seeks to promote health for all Asian and Pacific Islander communities and individuals through community action and health education.

Pritzker Students Provide Free Vaccinations in Chinatown

Contacts: Zhong Huang, Jessica Lu, Tony Liu, and Samuel Chen
Faculty Advisor: Karen Kim, MD, Department of Medicine

The purpose of this organization shall be to provide community based glucose and blood pressure screenings. Provisions to expand our services will be up to the discretion of the board and the needs of the community. We shall follow our community based screenings with community based diabetes and health related education programming in order to expand the knowledge base of the community as well as to empower individuals to take charge of their own health.

Contacts: Amani Allen
Faculty Advisor: Deborah Burnet, MD, Department of Medicine

The purpose of this organization shall be to provide undergraduate and medical students an opportunity to serve as mentors and friends to minority high school students who are underrepresented in medicine. The definition of minorities who are underrepresented in medicine as defined by the American Association of  Medical Colleges is: ‘Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.’ These high school students come from high schools throughout the area to the University of Chicago campus once a month where they participate in a variety of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities with the goal of giving insight into the life as a health professional as well as an opportunity to connect with medical students and physicians.

Contacts: Bryce Hendren-Santiago and Isaiah Selkridge
Faculty Advisor: Monica Vela, MD,  Department of Medicine

JOURNEES seeks to expose medical students to the health care needs of diverse patient populations beyond that of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Through direct service-learning experiences, we hope to gain awareness of the social determinants of diminished health conditions in underserved areas and to assist community organizations working to alleviate poor health outcomes throughout the country.

Contacts: Dawson Mills and Alex Thomas
Faculty Advisor: Sonia Oyola, MD, Department of Family Medicine

On a Mission for Nutrition is an organization that was formed to address the obesity disparity on the South Side of Chicago. Born out of a project emanating from the Health Care Disparities in America course at Pritzker, On a Mission for Nutrition is an after-school program that educates students on nutrition and empowers them to make healthy choices. The goal is to promote the health of our community but also to learn about the importance of public health.

Contacts: Evan Neczypor, Amani Allen, Allison Liu, and Montse Tijerina
Faculty Advisor: Anna Volerman Beaser, MD, Department of Medicine

We are a medical student organization at the Pritzker School of Medicine dedicated to relieving the health disparities of developing countries. We annually plan a service trip to an international and underserved location to provide needed medical services. We also raise money throughout the year to make a generous donation to the non-profit organization with whom we partner. In doing so we experience and witness the health disparities in these countries, understand these issues in order to ultimately become health advocates by educating our community.

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Website: remedyuchicago.org

Contact: Lorna Sánchez and Deepshika Sudhakar
Faculty Advisors: Brian Callender, MD, and Sonia Oyola, MD, Department of Medicine

The South Side Science Scholars group is committed to creating and delivering a sustainable weekly afterschool science program to under-served Chicago grade schools, particularly those of the South Side. We aspire to positively impact children's scientific thinking, elements of health education, communication skills, and enthusiasm for science.

Contacts: Christian CarrierAndrew Palmer, Geena Woo, and Natasha Powell
Faculty Sponsor: Jim Woodruff, MD, Department of Medicine

The University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine Chapter of the Student National Medical Association (Pritzker-SNMA) is committed to academic excellence, student recruitment and mentoring of underrepresented minorities, and community service.

Contacts: Isaiah Brown and Rimel Mwamba
Faculty Advisor: Bryan Smith, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine