Getting Clinical Experiences

Mission: “student-run, faculty-supported volunteer clinical research program at UCLA. Students assist with screening, consenting, and enrolling patients in clinical trials and observational studies at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.”

Scope: Clinical research + Interaction with Patients + Physician Shadowing

• Identifying and enrolling qualifying patients into clinical research studies conducted by Emergency Department faculty.
• Contribute to emergency medicine publications.
• Shadow physicians in a level-one trauma center.
• Present research at conferences.
• Leadership opportunities: student coordinators help schedule quarterly events, train new members, facilitate the new member selection process, and monitor the progress and quality of our research.

Commitment: varies

Application Time: FALL quarter

Website: https://emra.dgsom.ucla.edu/pages/

Mission: “Student Stroke Team and Stroke Force work alongside neurologists and emergency physicians in the Emergency Department at UCLA Medical Center and serve as the "eyes and ears" of the UCLA Brain Attack Team.”

Scope: Interaction with Patients + Physician Shadowing

• Work alongside neurologists during code strokes: document pertinent information about a patient's last known well time, time of stroke onset, neurological deficits, and medical history.
• Involved in enrolling qualifying patients in clinical trials.
• Get access to attending Stroke Neurology Rounds
• Receive SRP 99 or 199 credit

Commitment: varies

Application Time: FALL and SPRING, but must establish UCLA gpa before applying (i.e, you need one quarter of UCLA classes)

Website: https://www.strokeprogram.org/how-to-apply4.html

Mission: CTSI-RAP provides undergraduate UCLA students with the opportunity to gain exposure to hospital-based medicine as well as clinical research in an academic medical center. The program also builds a stronger support infrastructure for the research initiatives of UCLA faculty physicians and investigators.

Scope:

• Clinical Research Experience
• Hospital Volunteer Hours
• Rounding with Attendings
• Observing Procedures

Commitment: A total of 9 hrs/ week (1-hour meeting and 8 hours of research)

Application Time: only accepting applications from 2nd and 3rd year students. Transfer students may use their transfer GPA.

Website: https://www.ctsi.ucla.edu/pages/rap

Mission: “improve the health outcomes and quality of life of individuals experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable populations in the greater Los Angeles area by connecting them to the existing continuum of care. We strive to establish a safe, nonjudgmental environment where people of all backgrounds can receive direct medical care, legal advocacy, and compassionate connection.”

Scope: Interaction with Patients + Physician Shadowing + Non-clinical volunteering

• Target population: homeless population
• Caseworking: Caseworkers conduct social histories, or listening and documenting narratives, for clients, assisting them in various clinics and social capacities and referring them to social services they may be eligible for. (3-5 times per quarter AND during the summer).
• Participate in one of six committees, responsible for unique operations and projects on-site and off-site (Health education, outreach, logistics, referrals, grant writing, database).
• Serve food to clients within the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition one night every two weeks during the school year, and one night every week for half of summer.
• Attend MCP Service Learning Classes that meet Fridays from 1-3pm on campus.

Commitment: 50 hours/Quarter

Application Time: SPRING quarter

Website: https://www.mobileclinicproject.org/undergraduates

Mission: “a fully-fledged student volunteer organization that is on the cutting edge of physician-patient communication and feedback. the primary goal of ARC is improving patient satisfaction through the usage of patient surveys.”

Scope: Interaction with Patients + Physician Shadowing

• Survey patients regarding their resident physician interactions.
• Provide real-time patient feedback data to Program directors and their Resident Physicians
• Directly interact with patients and serve as an outlet for patients to voice additional feedback about their care
• Receive mentorship and clinical shadowing experiences.

Commitment: varies

Application Time: SPRING quarter

Website: https://www.facebook.com/ARCmedicalprogram/

Mission: Patient Health Advocates is a collaborative effort between student advocates and UCLA physicians whose mission is to connect underserved patients to helpful resources in their communities that can improve their health and wellbeing.

Scope:

• Work with residents and attending physicians to carry out social casework with patients of all sociodemographic statuses, income levels, ethnicities and ages
• Training curriculum has been specifically tailored to include relevant public health topics, Spanish lessons and clinician panels, allowing members to fully serve UCLA Health patients and physicians. (2-unit graded training course is required)
• All members will also learn to utilize and update specific databases of community resources for underserved populations in the greater Los Angeles area

Commitment: Minimum one 4-hour shift and one 1-hr committee meeting per week; minimum 1 year commitment

Application Time: Every FALL quarter only (applications due by Week 1)

Website: https://www.uclascope.org/patient-health-advocates

Mission: The Trauma Research Associates Program (T-RAP) at Cedars Sinai Medical Center focuses on facilitating clinical research in Trauma/Critical Care under the Department of Surgery

Scope:

• T-RAP involves a unique blend of first-hand clinical exposure and scientific research.
• Research associates become well-versed in the workings of trauma surgery and critical care as well as patient communication and education.
• Students are expected to be involved with multiple clinical research projects with a very high likelihood of being placed in abstracts and papers.
• Students may also choose to attend Grand Surgery Rounds, Morbidity and Mortality conferences, Acute Care Surgery meetings, Trauma research meetings, and partake in activities at Cedars Sinai Medical Center’s Simulation Lab.

Commitment: 10 hours/week, 1-year minimum commitment

Application Time: Winter and Spring quarter

Website: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/research/labs/ley/trauma-program.html

Mission: Fellowship for International Service and Health (FISH) is an entirely student-run nonprofit service organization based at UCLA. Our mission is to improve the health and the lives of underserved populations through community improvement, health screenings, and lifestyle interventions. FISH serves the community of Maclovio Rojas, Mexico in partnership with local health professionals and works with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of the people we serve.

Scope:

• English as a second language lessons
• Bi-weekly blood pressure screenings
• Quarterly health fairs, with an emphasis on health education and healthy lifestyle habits.

Commitment: mandatory weekly meetings + team duties

Application Time: Fall quarter (might recruit in Spring quarter)

Website: https://www.orangefish.org/

Mission: To facilitate improvement of patient safety by observing clinical processes at UCLA Medical Center and provide highly reliable feedback to the leadership and management of UCLA healthcare.

Scope: MAPS volunteers will also get to observe all different types of staff including attendings, residents, interns, physicians, nurses, care partners, respiratory technicians, patient transport, food services, etc. They are also the only program that has a physician rounding team shadowing opportunity where you get to go on rounds with physicians in the early morning.

Commitment: 16 hours/ month

Application Time: Applications are open at the beginning of each quarter.

Website: https://uclamaps.wordpress.com/

Mission and Scope: The Care Extender Program provides opportunities for volunteers to experience Health Care, from a clinical perspective through patient contact and volunteer involvement. Care Extenders gain first-hand experience on the role of healthcare providers by volunteering in various departments throughout the medical centers. Care Extenders are trained to assist Medical Center staff, who, in turn, are able to share their personal experiences with their volunteers.

Commitment: 4 hours/week for 1 year

Application Time: Quarterly (must attend an orientation session to be able to apply)

Website: https://www.uclahealth.org/careextender/care-extender-program

Note: Ronald Reagan has a lot of restrictions regarding volunteers, so it is often difficult to get patient interaction or meaningful experiences when doing care extenders at Reagan hospital. Doing the program at other hospitals (known as COPE Health Scholars) may give you much more meaningful exposure.

Mission: Global Medical Training (GMT) is an international, non-profit, and humanitarian organization that works to improve access to medical care in resource-poor Latin American communities. We partner with health professionals living in these communities to offer free medical clinics for individuals lacking consistent access to care.

Scope: Students are given the unique chance to directly participate in diagnosis and treatment plans under physician supervision. Student volunteers develop valuable clinical skills and learn about health systems in developing countries, equipping them to become effectors of change in the field of global health.

Commitment: Varies - attending weekly meetings is required

Application Time: Quarterly

Website: https://www.facebook.com/gmtatucla/

Mission and Scope: Our Flying Samaritans chapter at UCLA serves the rural communities of Rancho Escondido and Colonia Margarita Moran. Our program takes a unique approach to healthcare by promoting public health awareness and preventive medicine. We work to enable the people of these communities to take their health into their own hands and make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families by giving them the tools, knowledge, and skills to do so. By making regular monthly trips to Rancho Escondido and Colonia Margarita Moran, we hope to vastly increase the community’s access to medical care and establish a solid relationship with the residents, encouraging them to make regular monthly checkups a part of a healthy lifestyle.

Commitment: Varying levels of commitment depending on how much you want to get out of the experience

Application Time: Quarterly

Website: https://www.flyingsamaritansatucla.org

Mission: to provide free quality healthcare to the underserved community of South Los Angeles, with a particular emphasis on the Muslim population.

Scope: there are different sites that you can attend

• At PHI clinic, you get to have one-on-one discussions with patients about diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and depression; inform them about common risk factors, early symptoms, and preventative health measures.
• At 68th street and ISLAH sites, which are middle schools, you get to facilitate health education lessons for children
• Moreover, there are quarterly health fairs for homeless population, where you get the chance to facilitate blood glucose tests, blood pressure tests, and BMI testing

Commitment: 9 hours/week. Each site visit is 3 hours, so you need to attend a minimum of 3 sites per quarter, which is very feasible.

Application Time: application is open at the start of every quarter. Pretty much anyone who applies can get in

Website: http://www.ummaclinic.org/volunteer-opportunities-2/

Mission: The Pre-Medical Student Volunteer Program, under the leadership of Jason Cohen, MD, FACS, is for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students who are planning to go on to medical school.

Commitment: Based on the physician-mentors’ schedule; mandatory 2-hour weekly meetings

Application Time: Rotations are offered 3 times a year — in the fall, spring and summer. Check a few months in advance for the specific application timelines.

Website: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/volunteer-services/adults/pre-med.html