As Adriana Mulet-Miranda, a senior undergraduate student, walked into the Family Community Clinic for her afternoon shift on Dec. 17, she was greeted with smiles from the staff and volunteer medical providers who know her by name.
For Mulet-Miranda, who has served as a volunteer scribe and interpreter at the clinic for a year and a half, the mission of the clinic hits close to home.
“My dad was a patient of the clinic; it’s a way to give back to those who helped my dad,” she said.
Tucked into the historic Butchertown neighborhood by St. Joseph Church, the Family Community Clinic at 1420 E. Washington St. provides free healthcare to people who are uninsured. And as the clinic provides healthcare to patients, it also offers future medical providers experience in the field to students like Mulet-Miranda.
The Family Community Clinic has “bridged the gap in healthcare” access, serving more than 18,000 patients since opening in 2011, said Young-Won Christina Kim, director of volunteer coordination and marketing for the clinic. Last year, its volunteers served more than 1,700 patients.
“We provide healthcare to those who otherwise would not be able to receive care. Many of our patients work two to three part-time jobs that do not offer insurance, and many must pay full charges for primary care services,” said Kim.
The clinic relies on volunteers to fill 60 to 70 four-hour shifts every week, said Kim. Several medical students and undergraduate students interested in healthcare have committed their time to the effort.
Students who regularly volunteer freely give their time as scribes or interpreters, said Kim, noting, “It’s a good way for them to practice what they’re learning.”
Volunteer Junaid Shahzad began serving as a scribe at the clinic in 2019.
A medical scribe helps the physician by documenting medical visits and reporting the interaction between the patient and the physician. During the visit, the scribe takes notes on the patient’s history and condition and the proposed treatment plan, updating the patient’s medical records.
When he started, Shahzad was a freshman undergraduate student who didn’t know anything about medicine or scribing, but was committed to learning, he said in a recent interview.
Now he’s a first-year medical student and he credits the clinic for increasing his exposure to medical terminology, common conditions and medications, he said.
His experience also helped him work as a paid scribe at other clinics. In turn, he’s brought what he learned at other clinics back to the Family Community Clinic, where he continues to volunteer.
He has worked to standardize the clinic’s transcriptions to make the medical notes “easier to read and more efficient,” and also easily understood by the providers, he said. He created a binder for volunteers — especially those who had no previous scribing experience — to learn the basics and streamline the process.
Amanda Jones, a second-year medical student, didn’t know what to expect when she received a placement at the clinic for a six-week summer externship. But she concluded the experience with a deep respect and admiration for the providers who “generously give of their time,” she said.
The clinic gave her the opportunity to work with physicians from multiple specialties, and she was surprised by the providers’ willingness to share their expertise with her, she said.
The volunteer physicians — many of whom are retired or nearing retirement — had decades of experience and wanted to share their knowledge, she said. They took her “under their wing” and gave her good advice, she said.
“They want to help the younger generation,” she noted.
Mulet-Miranda, who plans to apply for medical school, said her experience with the physicians has reinforced her desire to be a medical provider.
She sees the physicians as “advocates” for their patients, she noted. The providers take their time with the patients and commonly ask about their families and experiences, she said.
“A lot of the patients don’t have families here. The clinic is a part of their family,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Volunteering at the clinic exposed the students to several barriers in healthcare, they added.
“In medical school, we learn ‘here’s the symptoms, and here’s how to fix it,’ ” said Shahzad. At the clinic, he learned more about the “human” element of healthcare, he said.
Multiple factors can impact a patient’s health, he noted. He’s “conscious of all of the other factors” that may impose limitations on a patient’s health, including accessibility — whether a patient can afford a medicine or has transportation to a clinic, he said.
Jones said she became more aware of how a language barrier can prevent quality healthcare. Most of the patients she helped serve were Spanish-speaking and “that’s a barrier to healthcare,” she said.
She now wants to learn Spanish to better serve her future patients, she noted.
“It opened my eyes to want to learn Spanish because of how much (more) patients will tell you,” Jones said.
Mulet-Miranda said the clinic has exposed her to a population that is “underserved or not served at all” by the medical system. Noting that the clinic is often fully booked, she said she’s now seen “the magnitude” of patients “who would have fallen through the cracks if it wasn’t for the clinic.”
All three students said they plan to continue volunteering at the clinic.
The clinic has recently begun offering monthly specialty clinics in areas such as endocrinology, dermatology and social work. They also partner with “Have a Heart Clinic” annually and “Free Smiles Dental Clinic” monthly. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, several physicians have continued to offer remote services for patients.
The clinic is seeking volunteers to serve in the following roles: interpreters, scribes, nurses, adult and pediatric providers, dentists and dental hygienists, registered pharmacists and social workers. Those interested can visit famcomclinic.org/volunteer.
The clinic, which requires appointments, is open Mondays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays to Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To learn more, call the office at 384-8444.
