University of Manitoba Student-Run Health Clinic

University of Manitoba Student-Run Health Clinic

Winnipeg’s Point Douglas Community was recently identified as the area in Winnipeg with the poorest overall health and the highest level of poverty1. We, a group of committed health sciences students in Winnipeg, believe that we can make a tangible contribution to improving health in this area. To this end, we are currently working to establish the Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Student-run Health (WISH) Clinic within the Point Douglas Community. The WISH Clinic hopes to operate one or two drop-in clinics per week beginning in the fall of 2008, as well as community events such as workshops and seminars on various topics related to health and wellness.

Our vision for the WISH Clinic is that it will provide non-judgmental, socially responsible, holistic health care to a population that struggles with poorer health than the rest of the city. Health care will be provided by post-secondary students and licensed professional mentors from a broad range of disciplines that includes, but is not limited to, Dental Hygiene, Dentistry, Dietetics, Medical Rehabilitation, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, and Spiritual Care. In addition, students from all disciplines will work as social representatives at the clinic, in which capacity they will interact and socialize with clinic patients who are waiting to be seen. The clinic will be administered and directed by post-secondary students from across Winnipeg.

The interdisciplinary nature of the WISH Clinic will enable us to offer comprehensive health care services to our patients and to provide collaborative learning opportunities to students from different educational programs, many of whom would not otherwise have the chance to interact with each other. It will further enhance education by providing students with an opportunity to become more aware of inner city issues, social needs, and the medical concerns of this community. Students will develop appropriate interpersonal and clinical skills for working with this population through both their formal educational programs and service learning at the clinic.

There is growing recognition in Canada that student-run health clinics are a sustainable model for service delivery and experiential learning. The oldest existing student-run health clinic in Canada (CHIUS; Community Health Initiative by University Students) has been successfully serving members of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side for over seven years. Similar initiatives have also been established in Edmonton (SHINE; Student Health Initiative for the Needs of Edmonton) and Saskatoon (SWITCH; Student Wellness Initiative Toward Community Health). Many other universities across the country are working to develop their own student-run health clinics, and the first Canadian conference on student-run health clinics was recently held in Vancouver and Victoria as part of the Annual Meeting of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC). The WISH Clinic will draw greatly on ideas from these initiatives, while being tailored to the specific needs and opportunities of our city, our educational institutions, and the patients whom we will serve.

The WISH Clinic is strongly supported by the University of Manitoba, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and private donors. Students in the Faculty of Medicine recently voted to donate $25 per student per year to this initiative, over and above their existing student fees. The Alan Klass Memorial Program for Health Equity, a new initiative within Undergraduate Medical Education at the University of Manitoba, has provided funding to support the work of five summer students over two years. These students have conducted a needs assessment for Winnipeg’s inner city (summer 2006) and worked on the development of a location, funding strategy, and policy documentation for the clinic (summer 2007). The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has committed to providing funding towards medical personnel and supplies. A private donor has recently come forward with a generous donation to the clinic, and additional donors are currently being sought.

The WISH Clinic has established an Executive Council and eight different committees (Establishment, Mentor Liaison, Research, Community Outreach Committee, Funding, Public Relations and Communications, Volunteer Management, and Curriculum Advocacy) to work towards opening the clinic in 2008. Students from a range of programs have joined the Executive Council and the various committees, and significant progress has been made in a number of important areas. For example, the Community Outreach Committee has hosted a social event for members of the Point Douglas community, and the Establishment Committee has reached a tentative agreement with Mount Carmel Clinic to open the WISH Clinic at their location. In the summer of 2008, we hope to hire six students from various health care programs to work full-time towards the clinic opening. We are currently seeking funding for these positions from health care faculties at the University of Manitoba.

How to become involved:

We are very excited about involving students, faculty members, community organizations, and members of the general public in both the development and the eventual operation of our clinic. We currently have several different types of opportunities, as described below, and we are always interested in hearing other ideas for how you or your organization could become involved with our clinic. Please email us at itoba or visit our website ( if you are interested in participating in our clinic in any of these ways.

Student volunteers: Students from any post-secondary educational institution in Winnipeg are invited to participate in clinic activities. We are currently looking for students from all faculties and schools who are interested in joining the clinic’s committees, volunteering for clinic events, or applying for one of the full-time summer positions. To find out more about a specificcommittee, please join its Yahoo group:

Establishment Committee (

Mentor Liaison Committee (

Research Committee (

Community Outreach Committee (

Funding Committee (

Public Relations and Communications Committee (

Volunteer Management Committee (

Faculty members: We are currently looking for faculty members from each of the health care-related disciplines to act as advisors and contacts for their faculty or school. Faculty members from any post-secondary educational institution in Winnipeg are invited to participate.

Mentors: We are always looking for licensed health care professionals (e.g. dental hygienists, dentists, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physicians, physiotherapists, social workers, spiritual care workers, etc.) who are interested in working as mentors at clinic events or during shifts once the clinic is established.

Community organizations: We are currently conducting a community consultation process in which we are meeting with community organizations from Winnipeg’s inner city to discuss our clinic and inner city health care needs. Please contact us if you would like your community organization to be involved in this process.

Funders: We are currently developing a funding strategy for our clinic, and we would be happy to discuss possibilities for contributing financially to the clinic.

Thank you very much for your interest in our clinic, and we look forward to hearing from you. For more information, please visit our website at or join our mailing list at

1 Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. 2003 Community Health Profile – Point Douglas Community Area.