Satisfaction of Health Care Providers at an inner city student-run free clinic

BACKGROUND: The Brooklyn Free Clinic is a student-run free clinic provides primary care to uninsured adults. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the satisfaction of providers working at the clinic. METHODS: Providers were asked to complete a satisfaction questionnaire with an opportunity to write in comments. The survey included satisfaction in the areas of efficiency, access to resources for patients, communication between health care providers, and ability to provide care to patients. RESULTS: Twenty-three providers completed the questionnaire. Among them eighteen were fourth year medical students, two were third year medical students and three were physicians. 96% of providers felt that the care provided by the clinic was of good quality. There was significant disagreement regarding access to resources necessary for optimal treatment, specifically in the inability to get free referrals for specialties. All providers felt that their experiences at the clinic were productive and 91 % were satisfied with the student-run administrative team at the clinic. Despite their overall satisfaction with efficiency, providers had varied responses when asked if they spent too much time at the clinic in a given night. CONCLUSIONS: Medical students and physicians were satisfied with their ability to provide care at a student-run free clinic and felt that their experiences were productive. The major limitation to satisfaction was access to free referrals for their patients. Understanding these concerns can help free clinics increase the satisfaction of health-care providers perhaps attracting more volunteers and certainly increasing their capacity to provide care.