University of Connecticut Health Leaders (UCHL) is a unique program giving pre-health student volunteers exposure to clinical experience, service opportunities, and professional development. The program is designed so that volunteers spend clinic time helping improve patient follow-up, counseling patients on healthy life style changes, and working with the electronic medical record. UCHL also helps future applicants to health-professional fields meet all of the experience requirements expected of them, such as clinical and non-clinical volunteering, research, and leadership. This experience will give students an opportunity to explore career options within the health care system and learn about ways to provide better care to patients in their own future practice.
Through our monthly professional development meetings students will have the opportunity to learn about careers in health care from field experts, teach their peers about health care topics they are passionate about, discuss the graduate school application process, and develop professional qualities that will help them in their fields. UCHL enables pre-health students to learn about becoming patient advocates, improving patient outcomes beyond the exam room, and practicing the leadership skills that are vital for every medical professional.
The program is creating a symbiotic relationship between the volunteers and community. Future health care professionals often need meaningful medical experiences, mentorship and training to become advocates for the community. Similarly, health care centers often lack enough resources to adequately provide patients with information they may need. The program offers a community of diverse like-minded, driven individuals working towards a shared goal of learning how to be leaders in their health care communities and addressing disparities in healthcare.
Students
- Have support and guidance from peers and mentors
- Learn about various health care fields and professions including primary care and public health
- Acquire skills necessary for success in their fields
- Gain valuable insights into the health care system and how it functions
- Participate in programs aimed at making actual impacts on patient outcomes
Patients
- Expand their health care and resource access
- Optimize their wait times
- Reduce their costs
- Become more satisfied with their clinical experience
- Improve their health and outcomes