Monday, June 29, 2009

What started as no more than an e-mail a few years agois today a dream come true for one Silver Spring woman.

When Howard University medical student Raolat Abdulai received an e-mail more than a year ago from one of her instructors, Dr. Christopher DeGannes, who was seeking students interested in taking a course on organizing free student-run clinics, she jumped at the chance.

After she attended a course offered in Portland, Ore., and returned to Howard, Ms. Abdulai found overwhelming support for a free clinic.

“When we had a meeting to see who might be interested, more than 100 students showed up, and there were some faculty members as well,” Ms. Abdulai said.

Ms. Abdulai’s subsequent efforts led to the university opening this month of the New Freedmen’s Clinic, where Ms. Abdulai, now a third-year medical student, will serve as director of the student-staffed clinic, which will serve low-income and uninsured patients.

Students from the Howard University Hospital College of Medicine will offer free medical service on the first floor of the hospital every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Initially, the clinic will be for adults only. Each Thursday, four medical students, overseen by two Howard University Hospital physicians, will treat patients by appointment and those referred by the hospital’s Emergency Department.

Ms. Abdulai’s quest to establish a student-run clinic received an extra boost when she was chosen to participate in a women’s leadership training program, Women Rule! which is a joint project between O, the Oprah Magazine, and the White House Project.

“That’s when I really learned how much effort has to go into a project like this,” Ms. Abdulai said. “We needed attending physicians. We needed a space. We needed to learn lab skills and perfect our clinical skills in order to serve the patients. And I really learned it’s a hectic pace at these kinds of clinics.”

The leadership project provided training for a select group of 80 women who attended the three-day leadership-training workshop in New York City. The women learned to write a business plan, negotiate, build teams and organize themselves and others.

Ms. Abdulai and other students also observed the operations of the free clinic at Bread for the City, a nonprofit agency that provides food, clothing, medical care, legal and social services for low-income Washington residents.

The Howard medical students then applied to the Association of American Medical Colleges for funding and received a $30,000 grant. “After we got the grant, we finally realized that our dream would come true,” she said. “I’m so excited. I’m ecstatic.”

Dr. Charles Mouton, chairman of Howard’s Department of Community and Family Medicine and adviser to the clinic, said the students’ efforts reflect the medical school’s mission.

“Howard University College of Medicine’s mission is to serve the underserved populations and reduce health care disparities,” Dr. Mouton said. “Our students are driven by that mission. That’s why they came here, because they want to serve people.”

• Ron J. Harris is director of communications at Howard University.

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