A medical volunteer experience can be an eye-opening, educational lesson for aspiring physicians that may yield benefits that extend beyond the valuable lessons learned from the experience itself.

Medical outreach programs are a great way to increase your awareness about the many aspects of patient care while having a positive impact on local communities. From the local community to global outreach opportunities, these activities offer many invaluable experiences that medical students may draw from as they progress in their careers.

St. George’s University School of Medicine students and graduates have participated in various medical outreach and volunteer programs. We will share their experiences as they talk firsthand about why they felt that giving back to patients and communities in need was a personal win for them.

 

Community volunteer work during clinical rotations

During their clinical rotations at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, former SOM medical students Zekeria Sawaged, Natalia Cardona, and Peter Killian, volunteered at a community outreach program, while representing the hospital.

At the Children’s Mental Health Day event, they assisted at the hospital’s “Trauma Injury Prevention” table, offering information to visiting families about the importance of wearing bike helmets. They also had the opportunity to speak to other agency representatives attending the event to learn about the work that these advocates are doing in the community and meet with county officials and organizers of the event.

The community outreach event was valuable for the students in their medical training for several reasons, including:

• Raising student awareness about many aspects of healthcare
• Giving them the opportunity to develop their presentation skills
• Allowing them to achieve additional accomplishments they can add to their portfolio when it comes time to applying for residency

“Children’s Mental Health Day was as much of a learning experience for the children and families as it was for us,” Mr. Killian said at the time. “There are so many programs available to the general public that healthcare providers are not familiar with. As a potential Emergency Room doctor, learning about resources that help to prevent injury, self-harm, and eventual emergency room visits was eye-opening.”

The volunteer event was also a prime example of how physicians can connect with patients within their community.

“Being a part of the community is integral to my training as a future psychiatrist, as the interactions and the bonds built are priceless,” Mr. Sawaged said at the time. “As doctors in training, we have a responsibility to continue engaging with the communities that trust us to better their experience. This event allowed us to expose children and their families to mental health resources, while also providing outlets for those who are in need.”

 

SGU Physician Humanitarian Network

The SGU Physician Network (SGU PHuN) has impacted hundreds of individuals, families, and continues to provide crucial medical care to the Grenadian community. The SGU PHuN Network provides avenues for SGU doctors specializing in cardiology, vascular surgery, breast cancer detection, and more either to return to Grenada to offer their services pro-bono or assist with medical donations to give back to the community.

In 2023 alone, SGU PHuN continued to make a significant impact on Grenada including:

• The return of 17 alumni physicians to the island
• 1,000+ patients treated
• 146+ in- and out-patient procedures
• $639,000+ in donations of monies, medical supplies, and equipment

“The SGU PHuN program is extremely beneficial to the Grenadian community through the provision of often unavailable medical support in the form of specialized physician services as well as providing numerous donations of medical equipment and supplies,” according to Dr. Brendon LaGrenade, vice provost of St. George’s University. “SGU PHuN also affords an outlet for our alumni doctors to give back to the island where they got both their education and the start to their medical careers.”

Cardiologist Anthony Tramontano, MD ’99, helped to restart the SGU PHuN’s Adult Cardiology Program in 2022 following a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Tramontano is chair of medicine and medical director of cardiology at Adirondack Health in Saranac Lake, NY.

“Knowing the great need for cardiology services on the island, I was anxious to return to my regular visits to the clinic,” he said at the time. “My start in medicine was here at SGU and Grenada will always hold a special place in my heart. It is an honor to serve the patients here and offer what care I can, whether it be a one-time appointment in the Cardiology Clinic or continued care each time I return.”

 

Mental health research that benefits the underserved

During their fourth year of medical school, two former School of Medicine former used a prestigious American Psychiatric Association grant to further their research in mental health initiatives for underserved communities.

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s (APAF) Helping Hands Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 to medical schools for “mental health and substance use disorder projects, particularly in underserved minority communities.

The funded projects are created and managed by medical students and can be conducted in partnership with community agencies, or in conjunction with ongoing medical school outreach activities,” according to the Foundation’s website.

John Crane was one of the two SGU students—now graduates—who applied for the grant. Dr. Crane, a PGY-1 psychiatry resident physician at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (NYC Health + Hospitals | Elmhurst), is passionate about improving patients’ access to high-quality healthcare and reducing the stigma of mental health treatment.

“I realized there were opportunities to help patients through research, which made me want to apply for the grant and conduct research during my fourth year of medical school,” said Dr. Crane at the time the grant was awarded, adding that he went into medicine to serve underserved populations and improve their well-being. “As a psychiatrist, I look forward to helping patients improve their mental health. I am eager to work with underserved and disenfranchised populations.”

 

Volunteering on a global humanitarian medical mission

Ukrainian-born Dr. Mariya Vengrenyuk, a 2016 graduate of SGU’s School of Medicine, felt the calling to help the people of her native country as the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.

Traveling back to her home country in 2022, Dr. Vengrenyuk volunteered overseas with two different organizations. She first offered her medical expertise and language skills to help refugees in the Poland-Ukraine border city, Przemysl, by volunteering with the humanitarian group, SSF-Rescuers without Borders. She then traveled to Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine—her hometown—to work with Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a group that helps to bring severely wounded soldiers to the US for costly surgeries and other medical treatments pro bono.

“I love people in general and if I can lessen their pain, whether physical or emotional, I will try my best to do it,” Dr. Vengrenyuk said in an interview prior to her trip.

“My SGU experience prepared me to always be ready for new opportunities and to learn to adapt quickly. I made many connections at SGU with doctors who now practice all over the world,” she added.

 

Cancer screening on wheels

SGU School of Medicine and School of Graduate Studies alum, Patrick Dineen, MD, MBA, plays a key role in making screening for breast cancer more accessible for women on Long Island through his career in cancer outreach.

Dr. Dineen is the current program manager of cancer prevention and screening at Stony Brook Cancer Center. In his role with Stony Brook, he helped establish their mobile mammography program. The program provides breast cancer screenings to historically underserved communities by bringing the appointment to them.

While Dr. Dineen’s career path as an MD has been nontraditional, “I stepped back and thought about my values and what I love. I love speaking with people, I’m a person of the community, I love having an impact,” he says.

Dr. Dineen’s outreach efforts extend beyond the Long Island community. He publishes papers and speaks at conferences to inspire other healthcare professionals to think about how they can better serve communities in need.

“My perfect day is getting feedback from those I supervise or our community partners about the impact we made,” he adds. “Although it’s a bittersweet moment when our team finds someone’s cancer, we also recognize that if we hadn’t discovered it, the patient might never have undergone screening for various reasons. I can’t imagine a better day than hearing stories about the lives we’ve saved.”

As you may see after reading some of the experiences SGU alumni have shared, pursuing a career in medicine can be a great way to give back to the community.

Many SGU graduates, for example, are using the skills they learned in medical school to bring patient care and help to communities most in need. Whether it’s volunteering at a local medical outreach event or if you aspire to make a difference on a global level, there are numerous benefits for you and for community members by participating in a medical outreach program.

Learn more about how you can start your dream of becoming a physician and get the training you need in order to help those most in need.