Dataset Information

Challenges in Founding and Developing Medical School Student-Run Asylum Clinics.

ABSTRACT: In response to the rapidly rising number of asylum applications, student-run asylum clinics (SRACs) designed to provide pro bono forensic medical evaluations have emerged at medical schools across the United States. Distinct from traditional student-run clinics in the services they provide and in their operational models, SRACs face a unique set of challenges. This study aims to identify the common challenges in building SRACs and to collect insights to inform a structured approach to collaborative problem-solving. This study gathered data from online surveys and semi-structured phone interviews with representative medical student SRAC leaders. 14 clinics participated in the 2017 online survey, 15 clinics in the 2018 online survey, and eight clinics in the 2018-2019 phone interviews. We identified common challenges in five areas: volunteer recruitment, clinic operations, case demand, institutional support, and leadership. SRACs stand to benefit from ongoing extramural collaborations to overcome shared challenges.

SUBMITTER: Gu F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7576100 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Challenges in Founding and Developing Medical School Student-Run Asylum Clinics.

Gu Fangning F Chu Emily E Milewski Andrew A Taleghani Sophia S Maju Mehar M Kuhn Randall R Richards Adam A Emery Eleanor E

Journal of immigrant and minority health 20201021 1

In response to the rapidly rising number of asylum applications, student-run asylum clinics (SRACs) designed to provide pro bono forensic medical evaluations have emerged at medical schools across the United States. Distinct from traditional student-run clinics in the services they provide and in their operational models, SRACs face a unique set of challenges. This study aims to identify the common challenges in building SRACs and to collect insights to inform a structured approach to collaborat ...[more]

PMID: 33085030

Similar Datasets

Project description:Objectives: A potential new avenue to address the shortage of country doctors is to change the rules for admission to medical school. We therefore study the link between high-school grade point average and prospective physicians' choice to work in rural areas. To further inform the discussion about rules for admission, we also study the effects of other predictors: a measure of students' attitudes towards risk; whether they waited for their place of study (Wartesemester); whether their parents worked as medical doctors; and whether they have some practical experience in the medical sector. Methods: We conducted two internet surveys in 2012 and 2014. In the first survey, the sample comprised 701 students and in the second, 474 students. In both surveys, we asked students for their regional preferences; in the 2014 survey, we additionally asked students for their first, second, and third preferences among a comprehensive set of specializations, including becoming a general practitioner. In both surveys, we asked students for basic demographic information (age and gender), their parents' occupation, a measure of subjective income expectations, a measure of risk attitudes, and their high-school grade point average (Abiturnote), and First National Boards Examination grade (Physikum). In 2014, we additionally asked for waiting periods (Wartesemester) as well as for prior professional experience in the health-care sector. Results: We find that three factors increase the probability of having a preference for working in a rural area significantly, holding constant all other influences: having a medical doctor among the parents, having worse grades in the high-school grade point average, and being more risk averse. Moreover, we find that those willing to work in the countryside have significantly more experience in the medical sector before admission to medical school. Discussion: Our results suggest that a change in the selection process for medical school may increase the supply of country doctors. Instead of focusing on the high-school grade point average, universities could even more intensely screen for study motivation through interviews or by taking into account students' background, extracurricular activities, or waiting periods.

Project description:ContextThe function of medical school entities that determine student advancement or dismissal has gone largely unexplored. The decision making of 'academic progress' or student promotions committees is examined using a theoretical framework contrasting ethics of justice and care, with roots in the moral development work of theorists Kohlberg and Gilligan.ObjectivesTo ascertain promotions committee members' conceptualisation of the role of their committee, ethical orientations used in member decision making, and student characteristics most influential in that decision making.MethodsAn electronic survey was distributed to voting members of promotions committees at 143 accredited allopathic medical schools in the USA. Descriptive statistics were calculated and data were analysed by gender, role, institution type and class size.ResultsRespondents included 241 voting members of promotions committees at 55 medical schools. Respondents endorsed various promotions committee roles, including acting in the best interest of learners' future patients and graduating highly qualified learners. Implementing policy was assigned lower importance. The overall pattern of responses did not indicate a predominant orientation toward an ethic of justice or care. Respondents indicated that committees have discretion to take individual student characteristics into consideration during deliberations, and that they do so in practice. Among the student characteristics with the greatest influence on decision making, professionalism and academic performance were paramount. Eighty-five per cent of participants indicated that they received no training.ConclusionsPromotions committee members do not regard orientations of justice and care as being mutually exclusive and endorse an array of statements regarding the committee's purpose that may conflict with one another. The considerable variance in the influence of student characteristics and the general absence of committee member training indicate a need for clear delineation of the medical profession's priorities in terms of justice and care, and of the specific student characteristics that should factor into deliberations.

Dataset Information

Challenges in Founding and Developing Medical School Student-Run Asylum Clinics.

Publications

Challenges in Founding and Developing Medical School Student-Run Asylum Clinics.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets