My first Jackson Free Clinic experience was great! I spent about 5 hours over there today, and it is definitely something I want to be involved with during the first two years of med school and during my graduate work. The physicians working there told me that the students involved in the clinic are far better prepared for the third year of medical school than those who are not.

At the Free Clinic, all the volunteers sign in and are assigned to a group, each of which usually have a few medical students (at least one upperclassmen) and a pre-med or two. In my group we had a rising M4, a rising M2, me, and one pre-med. I fall under the classification of a medical student now, even though I haven't started classes, so I was allowed to help with the procedures. No significant procedures are done at the clinic, but it's still excellent practice.

I already knew how to take a blood pressure (I've done that a good bit in the past), so that was no big deal, but what was a milestone for me today was learning how to draw blood. I got to do it three times today, and every time, I hit the vein on the first try. But boy was I nervous! I don't know exactly why, but drawing blood is the one procedure that I had built up in my mind to be a bigger deal than it is, so I was happy to find out that it is quite simple. My hands were shaking visibly, but my patients were great and didn't seem to be bothered by it. I was trying to sound confident when I was talking with the patients, so I like to think that my voice reassured them.

I'm ready to learn more!