Community Service

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Donate Blood!

Make an appointment!

San Diego blood bank has multiple of locations where you can sign up to donate. Look up available slots and type of donation (RBC, platelet, etc): https://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/
The website only lets you make an appointment at least 10 days in advance of the appt…but if you call them, you can schedule over the phone for whenever!

San Diego Blood Bank: Donor Centers and Mobile Drives. Donating blood is convenient with locations across Southern California. Locate a donor center or blood drive near you.www.sandiegobloodbank.org

There is also the Red Cross: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?dt=all&zipSponsor=92101

Thank you Puja Takiar for helping organize this information!

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VA Operation Stand Down!

Shout-out to our resident team who volunteered at Operation Stand Down this last weekend! Thank you Drs. Kaiser, Kim, and Takiar for taking time to support our veteran community! Also, there was a petting zoo 🙂

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Help our veterans at North County Stand Down!

    North County Stand Down volunteers are still needed!  

    When: Friday February 7th, Saturday February 8th, or Sunday February 9th 2020

    Where: Green Oaks Ranch (Vista)

    Shifts needed: 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm. Sunday 9-1 only.

    The North County Stand Down is an event that provides health care to homeless veterans, with a Medical Tent that provides a number of services including urgent/walk-in medical care.  Services do include some limited labs, pharmacy services, counseling, immunizations, and HIV/HepC screening. This is a great opportunity to hone your clinical skills! The patients are very grateful for the care they receive at this event, and some will go on to establish regular care at the VA based on a positive first interaction there.

    If interested and available, please email the medical director, Dr. Amanda Apicella at amanda.apicella@va.gov.

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    UCSD at SNMA RMEC: #WhatADoctorLooksLike

    UCSD medical students and Med/Peds resident Dr. Maggie Kozman attended the 2019 Student National Medical Association’s Regional Medical Education Conference (RMEC) in Tucson, Arizona today!  RMEC is a region’s annual, student-led conference initiative that seeks to equip SNMA members, community members and pre-health students with the knowledge and skills to succeed and thrive in their academic and professional pursuits. Themed “#WhatADoctorLooksLike,” the Region 1 RMEC sought to examine how the societal mold of what doctors are ‘supposed’ to look like was created and explore ways in which underrepresented minority students can break this mold. 

    Volunteer Opportunity: Stand Down for Homeless Veterans

    Stand Down medical volunteers are still needed! When: June 28, 29, 30 Where: San Diego High School, downtown Shifts needed: 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm   Stand Down is an AMAZING annual event coordinated by Veterans Village of San Diego that provides a 3 day, 2 night intervention program for more than 800 homeless veterans and their families.  The Medical Tent provides a number of services including urgent/walk-in medical care. If you have ever wanted to find out how your clinical skills stand up without instant access to ECGs, full labs, imaging, or consultants, this is a GREAT opportunity for you!  Services do include some limited labs, as well as pharmacy, OT, massage, dental screenings, and lots of other helpful things. You will find that patients are very grateful for your care even when you can’t fix the problem, and some will go on to establish regular care at the VA based on a positive first interaction with

    read more Volunteer Opportunity: Stand Down for Homeless Veterans

    Check out this awesome opportunity with IHC (International Health Collective)!

    Clinic Itinerary International Health Collective is a nonprofit, student-run organization that aims to solve health disparities in Eastern Tijuana and San Diego communities. International Health Collective, or IHC, takes on this issue through a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach. Holding the firm belief that it takes a wide lens and a diverse skill set to examine and alleviate root causes to health issues, IHC members originate from different backgrounds and fields of expertise. Specifically, IHC consists of undergraduate students (medical, engineering, humanities etc.), Medical and Pharmacy graduate students, health professionals, and community members. Members will work towards disentangling the complex relationship between structural barriers and health disparity on a global scale. The clinic is situated in Tijuana, Mexico and clinic trips are held the first Saturday of every month. Our next clinics will be 6/1, 7/6, 8/3, 9/7, 10/5 and we are in need of medical providers to see patients with a variety of chief complaints, prescribing medication from our pharmacy and

    read more Check out this awesome opportunity with IHC (International Health Collective)!

    Congratulations to Dr. Castellanos! Appointed Director of PRIME-HEq

    Congratulations to Dr. Luis Castellanos, MD, MPH (UCSD IM residency alum, class of 2006) who has been appointed as Director of the Program in Medical Education-Health Equity (PRIME-HEq) Program here in the UCSD School of Medicine. The PRIME-HEq program is one of six UC system-wide health science PRIME programs, and is a 5-year dual degree program here in the School of Medicine that affords our medical students integrated access to degrees such as a Masters in Public Health, Masters in Healthcare Leadership, Masters in Clinical Research, and Masters in Business Administration. The program’s mission is to develop physician leaders to care for and advocate on behalf of communities at risk for health disparities, and it has an emphasis on multicultural, multidisciplinary approaches to patient care, research, and health care advocacy. Dr. Castellanos currently holds appointment as the Director of Diversity in Medicine and Faculty Outreach for the UCSD Department of Medicine and their commitment to promoting the recruitment, retention and

    read more Congratulations to Dr. Castellanos! Appointed Director of PRIME-HEq

    Remembering the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: Promoting Health Equity

    Dear UCSD Family, As we celebrate the birthday and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, we want to take the opportunity to remember the importance of service to others, inclusiveness and mutual respect in our work, our community, and our lives.  This message is particularly important today, in the trying times our nation faces.   Dr. King said: â€œThe arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”   As physicians, we have the opportunity to serve in our work each day; we hold a privileged role and a responsibility to help to bend this arc.   We are allowed into the lives of our patients in an incredibly intimate way, often at times when they are most vulnerable.  They place their well-being in our hands.  With this privilege comes an important responsibility: to treat all, regardless of their background, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, legal status, or country of origin, with care, respect, and humility.   It is vital to remember that we

    read more Remembering the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: Promoting Health Equity

    Urgent need for physicians to assist with refugee health assessment!

    Dear UCSD Family, There is an urgent need for physicians to help screen migrants who are seeking asylum in the US, as part of a refugee health assessment program at a shelter in the South Bay, from 3-9pm every night of the week (7 days a week), starting tomorrow (December 28, 2018). You do NOT need to speak Spanish to volunteer; medical interpreters available on site. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the chief resident on call at chiefucsd@gmail.com so that we may work to excuse you from scheduled duties and put you in touch with Dr. Linda Hill, Program Director for the UCSD-SDSU Preventive Medicine Residency, who is coordinating this effort, to ensure that you can be scheduled for a shift where you can be supervised by a UCSD faculty member.    Residents who wish to do so may be approved to rotate at the clinic to perform refugee assessments while on specific rotations including Primary Care the Underserved Med elective, research, VIQ, and on other elective and consult rotations, after we

    read more Urgent need for physicians to assist with refugee health assessment!