An interprofessional team of students, faculty and staff from East Tennessee State University’s five health sciences colleges volunteered at the Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic in Gray Nov. 5-7.
This was the fifth year that ETSU sent a team to Gray to help deliver free medical,
dental and vision services to people of the region.
The ETSU Health volunteers represented Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, Quillen College of Medicine, College of Public Health, College of Nursing and College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences.
Throughout the weekend, the students assisted with vision, dental, and medical screenings
and services, including audiology screenings. They also provided health awareness
and education initiatives, such as naloxone training and smoking cessation.
“The community engagement is two-fold,” said Dr. Caroline Abercrombie, director of
Experiential Learning at Quillen College of Medicine and director of Community Engagement
for Interprofessional Education Programs. “We want to make sure that we’re meeting
the needs of our community, but also meeting the needs of our students and the learning
objectives.
“The students are getting to meet the real patients, see the struggles they have and
connect them with resources in the community. At the same time, they’re getting to
be part of the interprofessional team here that delivers dental, medical, and vision
care and helps those patients fill those needs they have.”
In addition to its regular services, due to the pandemic, this year’s RAM Clinic also
required all patients to be screened for COVID-19. ETSU Health students assisted with
the screenings, as well as administering COVID-19 vaccines to patients.
“I’m thankful that we’re able to be a part of this event,” said Dr. Emily Flores,
associate professor of Pharmacy Practice at Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. “I love
that we’ve been able to do it for five years. The event has adapted over time. It’s
different doing it in a pandemic, but we know that the care and the service are still
needed. Just because the pandemic pauses some things, your health doesn’t stop, so
I’m glad that we’re able to continue these services for the gaps in our area.”