We Do it For Our Neighbors: Ethics in Action at a Student-Run Free Clinic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic presents a disruption in the services offered by healthcare facilities across the nation, including student-run free clinics (SRFCs). SRFCs may face extended disruptions during the pandemic due to the sponsoring schools’ policies to protect students and patients. However, restricting students from participation in SRFCs comes at the cost of acute and chronic disease management of patients, many of whom are marginalized populations whose only source of healthcare is free clinics. In this paper, we will argue how the management of a SRFC and the trust it has built in its community can demonstrate the emphasis on patient care over volunteer or learning experiences for students. There is literature proposing a virtues-based ethical framework with patients’ needs as the first consideration in management of SRFCs(1). We will demonstrate what these principles in the ethics literature look like in practice at a SRFC. We will explain mechanisms by which leaders of a student-run free clinic can take ownership of the care of their patient population, such as by following up appropriately on screening and diagnostic tests offered and having appropriate avenues for referral if results are abnormal. We will present ethical considerations that arise with this ownership and balancing a student-led learning environment with equitable patient care, as well as opportunities for improvement. Implementation of these practices can be used to argue the importance of SRFCs for communities in the face of disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.

1. Coverdale JH, McCullough LB. Responsibly managing students’ learning experiences in student-run clinics: A virtues-based ethical framework. Teaching and Learning in Medicine [Internet]. 2014 Jul 10 [cited 2021Nov 24];26(3):312-15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2014.910460