Volunteering in free clinics carries a moral cost for medical students

Abstract

It is unjust for the United States to rely on the charity and goodwill of overburdened medical students and physicians to provide free healthcare “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.” When I heard this quote by Canadian physician, William Osler, it reminded me of the humanistic ideals that drew me—and many others—to medicine. I find it aspirational, yet increasingly out of reach. At times, the US health system feels more like a corporate enterprise than a caregiving institution, too often leaving patients behind. An estimated one in seven adults—and nearly one in four adults with social risk factors—report difficulty accessing basic medical care in the United States.1 Free clinics are left to fill the gaps. This reliance shows deeper problems in the US health system and raises challenging ethical questions for the medical students who often staff them. Free clinics are praised for providing essential charitable care, …