With Burnett School of Medicine Students, Mercy Clinic Will Increase Patient Care by 30% in 2024
A partnership between the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University and Mercy Clinic of Fort Worth allows medical students and faculty to provide health care for underserved community members.
FORT WORTH – In her first six months of medical school, Raika Bourmand has already had several patient encounters at the Mercy Clinic of Fort Worth.
“Not only do we have early clinical experience, we also develop that confidence in the clinical environment,” said Bourmand, an MS-1 at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, “We also have these extra opportunities outside the curriculum like Mercy Clinic where we not only get clinical experiences, but we are learning the importance of community.”
Thanks to an ongoing partnership between the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and the Mercy Clinic, the health care facility is expected to increase patient care by 30 percent in 2024.
“We will be able to do an additional 230 patient visits,” said Aly Layman, Executive Director of Mercy Clinic. “That’s a big number in jumps for us. It’s about a 30 percent increase from what we have been doing so we are grateful for that.”
For the past 10 years, Mercy Clinic has been a beacon of hope for patients in South Fort Worth. The clinic provides free health care for those in the 76104 and 76110 ZIP codes who are uninsured and are at 200% or below the poverty level. Starting in 2024, Burnett School of Medicine students will be at the Mercy Clinic every Monday night.
This partnership provides an opportunity for medical students and faculty members to provide health care to an underserved community.
“This is a real clinic with real patients,” said Ric Bonnell, M.D., Burnett School of Medicine at TCU’s Director of Service Learning. “We don’t sacrifice care, time, and attention. The patients at Mercy are treated just like I treat patients in any other setting.”
Medical students perform tasks such as drawing blood, checking blood pressure, and giving assessments, all under the watchful eye of faculty.
“They love it,” said Sandra Esparza, M.D., the medical school’s Director of Clinical Skills. “They are the primary people who see the patients.”
Students are excited about this opportunity to learn while giving back to the community: “It’s a great learning experience for the students,” said Andrew Goh, MS-2. “We get to help out this population that doesn’t usually receive medical care.”