Lee Ann and I attended a pre-health advisor meeting for Boston area colleges a couple weeks ago. The topic of conversation was community health centers. Community Health Centers (CHCs) serve primarily underserved communities and patients with limited financial resource. Senator Ted Kennedy was a major proponent of CHCs.
Representatives from the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers discussed the work that the 52 health centers in Massachusetts (full list of centers) do and their vital role in their communities, providing not only direct care but additional social services such as child care and food banks. CHCs place a great deal of emphasis on prevention, education, and rehabilitation.
Students looking for clinical exposure and opportunities might consider volunteering in these smaller health clinics; CHCs usually receive fewer volunteer requests from students than the larger Boston hospitals. The speakers from Mass League noted how the exposure at CHCs can show pre-health students how vital CHCs are as care delivery sites and the diversity in the communities that are being served.
Although each CHC operates independently and will have their own volunteer programs and policies, the group brainstormed possible ways that college students could gain experience. Here are several ideas for how you might contribute:
- Serve as a medical interpreter. This is a very useful skill that is critical to the clinical work of CHCs. In South Boston, for example, there is a high need for Albanian and Russian translators given the large population in the community.
- Apply your IT/analytical skills. Students with technical skills (e.g. stats, Excel, etc.) may be able to contribute to community health research projects.
- Become a certified medical assistant. It may be possible to become certified as a medical assistant which would provide very significant clinical exposure.
- Volunteer with special clinics. One of the representatives from Mass League cited the huge need for clinical volunteers to provide vaccinations during the height of H1N1 .
- Participate in community and educational outreach.
- Assist with administrative projects.
Don't be bashful about contacting the volunteer services offices in these CHCs to ask about ways you can volunteer. There are many centers that are T-accessible from Harvard. PHBA even has a program that is run out of the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester.
