All students are encouraged to get involved in the administrative side of the clinic. The UC Irvine Outreach Clinics is completely run by students and will cease to exist without dedicated student leadership. To facilitate this important part of the clinic, eight committees have been established that focus on issues ranging from medications and research to volunteer recruitment and patient education (see below for a list and explanation of each committee). Each committee is led by committee coordinators who are also members of the clinic board. This board allows committees to communicate with each other and, through discussion and voting, make the final decisions on the direction of the clinic. Committee coordinators and board members are chosen through an application process. For this reason, early involvement in the clinic is encouraged to show enthusiasm and a desire to learn how specific committees function. If you are interested in joining a committee, please contact the respective committee coordinator by e-mail.

Committees

  • Labs & Dispensary: Connect patients to no-cost lab services and ensure that labs are accurately ordered and received. Ensure that patients receive the prescriptions and/or medications they need and enroll patients in patient assistance programs and low-cost pharmacy drug programs.
  • Research: Coordinate data collection and analysis to study clinic efficacy, focusing on patient care improvement.
  • Finance: Grant writing, charity event organizing, and maintaining the clinic budget.
  • Web/Publicity: Creative work (such as graphic design), publicity, and intranet/public website development and maintenance
  • Referrals: To establish strong alliances with existing clinics and organizations to provide services that are not at the moment provided by the clinic. Also, on the look out for great sites for UC Irvine Outreach Clinics expansion, especially in the Santa Ana area.
  • Patient Education: Develop patient health education programs; work with partners in the community including LHA Promotoras, mental health services, social services, and family counselors; and coordinate off-site UCIOC outreach activities.
  • Volunteer/Elective Curriculum: Organization of the course curriculum and verify volunteer eligibility requirements. In addition, recruit and coordinate volunteers from UC Irvine and the community.

Committee Coordinators/Clinic Board and their duties

Each committee is headed by a coordinator(s) who is responsible for running his or her committee and attending bi-weekly coordinator meetings. Certain positions are required to be filled by medical or nursing students and are specified below. For all other positions, students from any background with the enthusiasm to improve the clinic are amply qualified to handle the responsibilities and their appointments should be handled on a case-by-case basis. Many committees have 2 committee coordinators, meaning that for every general meeting, at least one committee coordinator for each committee should be present. These leaders are expected to organize, oversee, and disseminate all duties and responsibilities of their committee.

Labs & Dispensary– (2 Medical, Nursing or Pharmacy Students) —
Labs & Dispensary coordinators will be in charge of ensuring that patients receive the labs and medications ordered by physicians. Coordinators will train 6-8 volunteers to serve on the Labs & Dispensary committee. Committee members will work closely with a team of medical students and physicians to coordinate lab and dispensary services.

Lab Responsibilities: Lab & Dispensary Coordinators will train committee members and volunteers to accurately order labs in an EMR system and follow-up on missing or erroneous labs

Dispensary Responsibilities: Lab & Dispensary Coordinators will train committee members to order and print prescriptions using an EMR system. Coordinators are also expected to be well-versed in the Patient Assistant Program (PAP) applications and other free or discounted medication programs for patients. Coordinators will train committee members on filling out applications as well as determining eligibility for PAP. Lastly, coordinators are expected to create a standard method for organizing medications, keeping a log of their distribution, and be aware of overextending the budget.

Research — (2 Coordinators) —
The coordinator is expected to update and maintain the data management system for the clinic. This ensures that UCIOC can keep meticulous records of patients, patient outcomes, volunteer involvement, and clinic efficiency for future analysis. This position requires experience with computers and a willingness to learn the details of the EMR system being used at the clinic site. The coordinator will also be in charge of finding and implementing an EMR system for future standalone sites. The coordinator is also responsible for developing paper forms for the clinic, including registration forms and patient consent forms, and will also be in charge of any paper medical records that may be necessary to have.

Finance — (2 Coordinators) —
This position is meant for two coordinators because there are a few distinct aspects to the organization of the fundraising committee. This committee is in charge of grant writing, fundraising through donors in the community, and keeping track of the budget and monthly expenditures of the clinic. As part of the last aspect, this committee is also expected to be the liaison for any requests for supplies in the clinic. The committee coordinators are advised to split these responsibilities and organize the volunteers in the committee accordingly.

Web/Publicity — (2-3 Coordinators) —
The web/publicity coordinators will be expected to maintain and update the clinic website for public viewing. They will also be in charge of overseeing posts, volunteer registration, and calendar sign-ups for clinic dates. It is their responsibility to keep track of communications to clinic email accounts and to organize the UCIOC Google Group account. In addition, they must set up mailing lists as is needed by the various committees and fulfill any graphic design requests made by other committees.

Referrals — (2 Coordinators) —
The referrals coordinators will be responsible for establishing relationships with organizations and medical specialists in the community to create a comprehensive list of services (legal aid, employment, education, specialized procedures, insurance eligibility) available to our patients. While committee members might do the majority of the research, the coordinators are expected to be the liason to other organizations and maintain contact with them. The coordinators for this committee are also expected to be on the lookout for new sites that would allow us to serve a larger population and serve as a hub for the UC Irvine Outreach Clinics.

Patient Education — (2 Coordinators) —
The coordinators of patient education and outreach will be expected to organize patient education materials like brochures, cookbooks, and classes to be offered to patients. Recently, a diabetes management course has been established and it is now the coordinators responsibility to continue and improve this offered service. Eventually, the coordinators could create partnerships with organizations that provide other forms of health services and make them available to the clinic’s patients.

Volunteer/Elective Curriculum — (1-2 Coordinators) —
The coordinators for this committee will have a major role in managing undergraduate, graduate, and medical student volunteers. They will also be expected to direct the “Caring for the Underserved” Elective by recruiting various speakers and planning out the schedule for their lectures. They will serve to inform all volunteers about positions that are open, clinic duties, and ways to get involved.

Other Leadership Positions

Liaison to the Administration — (2 MS coordinators) —
From the 16 possible committee coordinators, two medical students will be the student representatives of the clinic. These students will collect all ideas and concerns and present them to the administration and relay all responses back to the students. These students are also in charge of organizing general meetings and delegating general work in circumstances that necessitate an overall leader.

Nursing Liaison — (1 Nursing Student) —
The nursing liaison is responsible for encouraging nursing student involvement in the clinic. Nursing students are able to participate on clinic days be taking patient vitals or working in the lab. It is the responsibility of the liaison that the nursing student position is filled each week at the clinic and that the nursing students are properly trained to fulfill their role.

Election Process

Committee coordinators are expected to serve a one year term. Applications will be available to all interested volunteer students, and must be turned in by the appointed date. All applicants will be discussed amongst the old board at a general meeting until a final consensus is made. In cases where a decision cannot be made through discussion, current committee coordinators and Dr. Dow will vote with a 50% +1 majority deciding the chosen applicant.

Students interested in the Liaison to the Administration positions must indicate so on their initial application. Each member of the new board will choose their top 3 candidates. A chosen member of the old board will collect and tally the top 3 candidates for the position. THESE THREE PEOPLE ARE NOT TO BE DISCUSSED TO ANYONE BESIDES THE OLD BOARD. From those three individuals, the old board with Dr. Dow will decide which 2 candidates are the best pair to orchestrate the best interests of the clinic. If a consensus is not reached, the old board and Dr. Dow vote, with a 50%+1 majority deciding the two chosen applicants.

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