The goal of the student-run clinic is to provide care to the community as well as to cut down on metro emergency room visits by offering extended hours of care. The People's Center clinic offers a unique opportunity for students to get hands-on experience working with a diverse patient population. Minority medical students in the program volunteer as mentors to high school juniors and seniors. High school students are given an opportunity to explore medical school by taking tours, sitting in on lectures, and sometimes attending surgical procedures on small animals. This program strives to encourage education and provide high school students with positive role models.
Topics range from current research in pediatrics to clinical practice.
To learn more about the clinical care of children, the group has established a shadowing program that matches students with a local pediatrician. Any student interested in research should contact the Pediatric Grants Research Office. This group meets monthly to discuss issues related to psychiatry. The students spend three or four days observing such aspects as the doctor with patients, staff meetings, and nursing home or hospital rounds. A student-run group that challenges health care professionals to think seriously about perplexing issues in medicine.