Many students who serve in the community clinics choose primary care specialties when entering residency training. These clinics survive because of student dedication. 85 percent of UC Davis medical students volunteer at the student clinics during their years at the medical school. The clinics serve largely indigent populations, often providing them with their only access to health care. The clinics are staffed entirely by volunteers including UC Davis faculty, undergraduate students, medical students and the community.
Undergraduate students act as interpreters, patient advocates, receptionists, and lab workers.
Many undergraduate student volunteers are planning for careers in health care. Volunteering in the clinics provides an early opportunity for hands-on training that would otherwise not be available to them. The clinics provide an invaluable safety-net for Sacramento's medically indigent people, saving money that would otherwise be spent in hospital emergency rooms. The clinics also afford a better utilization of valuable hospital resources, providing non-emergent care outside of overly impacted emergency room facilities. The clinics serve a valuable two-fold function.