upFRONT spring 07.FINAL.rev - University of Pennsylvania School ...

students care to change the world
Helping our Neighbors in West Philadelphia and
around the World
Our undergraduate nursing students who volunteer at the United Community Clinics
(UCC) do so as an elective community health experience. The free clinic is open one evening
a week and we have a dedicated core of students who regularly participate. The emphasis is
on assessing health problems early and providing clients with health education about their
conditions so that clients can take actions to prevent further problems in the future.
In the UCC setting, nursing students work with other students from a variety of disciplines
such as social work, medicine, and dentistry. In this way, all the students become familiar
with the important role each discipline plays in improving health and learn how to work
together as team.
In addition to providing services, the student coordinators take an active role in clinic
management. With a community advisory board, these students are learning innovative
ways to run a clinic. Student coordinators and local residents determine clinic priorities and
identify optimal strategies to accomplish these goals.
Furthermore, students are learning firsthand about the health effects of having limited access
to healthcare and other resources. From these experiences students come to see there are many
important ways to reduce health disparities – from providing much-needed direct services to
making small and large changes in the way healthcare delivery is structured. Our students are
providing a much-needed service in the community and are learning many valuable lessons
that will help them address some of the most pressing health concerns of the future.
ANNE TEITELMAN, PhD, CRNP, Nursing Advisor for United Community Clinics and Assistant Professor in the
Center for Health Disparities Research
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care to change the world