Who can volunteer

Physicians, residents, medical students, other health professional students and undergraduate students of any institution may sign up to volunteer. We ask that volunteers sign up for the appropriate roles when using the sign-up link. Undergraduate volunteers, please read the volunteer policy below. 

Volunteer scheduling

The sign-up form will be updated near the end of each month, at least one week ahead of the first Saturday of the next month. If you are an undergraduate, masters, or first or second year medical student, you may sign up for one shift per month. Physicians and medical students in their 3rd year or above may walk in, but are encouraged to sign up to create a balanced schedule each week. 

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Our volunteer policies

General volunteer policies

• ALL (new and returning) volunteers are to arrive no later than 9:00 AM on Saturday.
• Please dress casually! We strive to create an environment in which patients feel comfortable. Dress appropriately, with no clothing with frayed edges, tears, or holes in it, no shorts, and no sandals, but also no white coats please. A t-shirt and jeans would be great.​

• Always act in a professional manner toward patients, staff, attending physicians, and other students.
• ALL volunteers must sign in. Co-curricular volunteers will NOT be awarded credit unless they sign in.
• Volunteers who don’t show up on their assigned Saturday and who don’t notify the coordinator about the cancellation of their commitment by the Wednesday before will lose the privilege of signing up to volunteer in the following month.

Undergraduate volunteer policies

We are happy to welcome undergraduate students to Cass-Costea Clinic to volunteer! Please follow ALL of these instructions if you are a NOT a current medical student/physician and you wish to volunteer at Cass-Costea Clinic.

1. Please fill out this interest form https://forms.gle/ZgSxxQbv2vSejzsp7
Cass-Costea Volunteering Interest

2. After successfully filling out the form you will receive a zoom link for attending a MANDATORY training (The link will be sent the day before the training) . The interest form must be submitted by 11:59pm the Wednesday before the training.

3. Once you attend mandatory Zoom training, you will receive a link to sign up for a slot to volunteer with us. Please do not share this link with anyone or you will be removed and risk ineligibility for future volunteering.

4. You must sign up in order to volunteer (no exceptions). If you come in on a day that you are not signed up for you will be turned away and potentially be ineligible to volunteer in the future. 

Training every last Friday of the month at 5:30 pm.

Procedure in Clinic

Every patient visit must be documented by a SOAP note in the format specified and signed by the student that wrote the note. Your SOAP notes may be audited by a coordinator with any discrepancies brought to your attention. If your patient needs his/her blood glucose, HbA1c, or cholesterol checked, see a coordinator. Don’t hesitate to ask the coordinators questions or voice concerns!

Safety

Do not transport patients in your vehicle under ANY circumstance. If any kind of injury occurs to you while volunteering at Cass Clinic, notify a coordinator immediately. If a patient discloses that they have any blood-borne diseases, notify the attending physician. If the patient is HIV+ or has AIDS, do not write it down in their medical record due to legal liability issues. You may park your car on the street by the clinic. 

Contact

Feel free to email Mary-Ann Essak ([email protected]), the volunteer coordinator, if you have any questions or concerns!

Undergrad Volunteers: Please email our undergraduate coordinators Elinor Harris ([email protected]) and Christian Hausner ([email protected]) for volunteering questions.
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