When Kristine McCoy entered Stanford Medical School in 1998, she knew precisely what she wanted to do--provide medical care to people who might not otherwise get it. The mother of two arrived with a master's degree in public health and four years' experience writing policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
But McCoy, '90, soon concluded that the curriculum would not prepare her to care for patients from diverse backgrounds. For example, she says, "we know that people from some communities, like the Lao, won't come to a Western physician because they're not comfortable being examined." McCoy wanted to understand how other cultures' beliefs about health "intersect with the rest of their lives."
So she tracked down a dozen like-minded medical students. Together, they would meet over coffee to talk about how the school might broaden its curriculum.
The brainchild of those chats is PriSMS--the Public Service Medical Scholars Program--which was launched this year as a supplementary course to the Stanford MD program. Directed by Tim Stanton, '69, former director of the University's Haas Center for Public Service, and funded by the Medical School, the program encourages students to develop emotional flexibility and empathy for patients from unfamiliar populations. It also teaches the practicalities of organizing free clinics and writing grants.
Last fall, PriSMS awarded 13 yearlong fellowships, enabling medical students to explore ways to integrate public service into their careers. Third-year student Una Lee's fellowship garnered her a management post at the student-run Arbor Free Clinic in Menlo Park, which primarily serves uninsured Latino, black and Tongan local residents. At the clinic, Lee, '96, has learned to screen for tuberculosis, process lab results and follow up on care for patients with acute needs. She had planned to return to rural Ohio, where she grew up, and become a primary care physician, but now she thinks she might establish her own free clinic someday.
"So many people come to medical school with a history of public service and a passion for it, but we get overwhelmed with classes and that fire kind of goes out," says Lee. Before starting medical school, she researched alcohol and substance abuse among Asian women and worked at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic. "This program is a good step in the direction of helping to keep that fire alive."
