title: Medical student perceptions of the educational value of  a student-run free clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many medical schools have student-run free clinics (SRFCs), yet their educational value has not been well studied. We performed a one-time cross-sectional survey to assess medical student perceptions of the educational value of an SRFC at their institution.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors designed and validated a survey instrument including six statements on a 5-point Likert-scale. The questionnaire was distributed from February through May 2010 to all students enrolled at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine as part of a larger yearly, anonymous, internet-based survey regarding their experiences at the institution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 66.5% with 347 of 522 eligible students participating. Ninety percent agreed or strongly agreed that the SRFC was a valuable educational experience, mean score: 4.51 on a scale of 5. Eighty-two percent agreed or strongly agreed that the teaching was excellent, mean score: 4.23. Students agreed or strongly agreed that the SRFC improved attitudes toward working with underserved patients (72%, mean score 3.99), helped students stay connected to sense of purpose, (71%, mean score 3.98), improved overall sense of well-being (67%, mean score 3.88), and influenced their decision to come to UCSD (52%, mean score 3.37). Eighty-four percent of qualitative responses in a free text comment box were positive (46 of 55).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to report the perceptions of an entire medical student body of a SRFC at their institution. The majority felt that this was a valuable educational experience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0696, USA. sdsmith@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Sunny D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moutier
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002140:California; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*