Historical February 1978 People’s Clinic reporting. Original services, student placements and fees describe that period, not current medical guidance or availability.
There is an exciting new addition to the People’s Clinic. That addition is a formal educational role in cooperation with two different university programs. Both involve community health. The students will receive some of their practical experience with us. We’re honored to be chosen for this role.
Dick Peairs is a medical student from Ohio State University. OSU has a medical school large enough to support a diversity of specialties. One of its major emphases is in family practice. Each student at OSUMS must complete a clinical rotation in community medicine. In this rotation the student has an opportunity to see important aspects of general health care that aren’t seen in the usual hospital training. Each student chooses the particular facility at which he will serve his rotation.
Having attended Washington University as an undergraduate, Dick was interested in coming to St. Louis. He chose the People’s Clinic over the larger, more complex facilities for several reasons. For one, our clinic represents the opposite end of the health care delivery spectrum compared to most of the facilities utilized in his formal training. That means it’s small enough and simple enough to enable one person to “really get his fingers in” the whole operation. He can help with patient care during clinic hours, and also contribute to the organization and daily mechanics which are necessary to keep the clinic functioning. He is interested in learning just who the clinic serves and how, and exploring how this functioning can be improved to meet the health needs of the area.
That’s one of the advantages of a grassroots neighborhood clinic. The small size facilitates communication of and implementation of appropriate new ideas. Though we lack sophistication we can take care of many basic problems. Also, we are in many respects more available than other facilities, i.e., we’re close, inexpensive, open in the evening and no appointment is necessary. (Just get there early enough.) In the small number of cases in which our patients need to go elsewhere for service, we can send them to the right place and even contact the right people for them when necessary.
This type of referral and coordination of our services with other agencies is “right up Shelly Levinsky’s alley.” Shelly is a student in the Human Services program at Washington University. This program is interdisciplinary one designed to equip. professionals with the theory and experience necessary to help the citizens of a community cope with our complex society. For instance, as described above we can effectively broaden our range of service by maintaining a file of information about a diversity of services available to the community. Passing on this information makes those services truly available to a greater number of people. The knowledge and understanding of the system that Shelly obtained through a program such as the one at WU, can help her to help others make the system work for them.
We are very happy to have these students with us and look forward to a mutually rewarding experience.
Originally published in The Paper, February 1978.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: The printed “program is interdisciplinary one” and “equip. professionals” are retained.
Original source: SD_Times1978_02.pdf, printed page(s) 3; PDF page(s) 3.
