Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved

Introduction. Descriptive studies suggest student-run clinics (SRCs) positively affect preclinical students’ sociocultural and interprofessional attitudes, but few studies use validated measures. Methods. In a pre-post design, first-year medical, nursing, and pharmacy students who did and did not participate in SRCs completed demographic and open-ended questions, as well as two validated surveys, the Sociocultural Attitudes in Medicine Inventory (SAMI) and Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), at the beginning and end of the year. Results. With 68% (n=182/267) matched surveys we found no significant differences between groups over time (SAMI p=.53, RIPLS p≥.28 for each subcategory). However, of SRC participants, 99% reported commitment to the underserved and 57% reported improved interprofessional attitudes. Discussion. Students participating in SRCs perceive positive benefits, but do not score differently from those who do not. The SRC experiences may not be frequent enough to affect these measures, particularly since our students were high-scoring upon entry.