All volunteer students at the Brooklyn Free Clinic are enrolled in a NOT-FOR-CREDIT elective via the registrar office. Upon completion of all requirements, a notice of elective completion is made to the student's academic record.

        Interested student volunteers should attend our orientation which is scheduled bi-annually and register for the lottery.

 
        Scheduling for shifts is done on a "semi-annual" basis (Term 1 = Oct.1 - April 30, Term 2 = May 1 - Sept. 30). In September, shifts for MS1, MS2 and CHRP students are assigned randomly for the entire term. Accommodations are made to ensure that clinic volunteering does not interfere with students' exam schedules. There is a brief period of time (2 weeks) when students may swap their shifts with other clinic volunteers (a message board on Prime will be provided for this purpose). After this swap period is closed the official schedule will be posted and volunteers will be required to attend their assigned shifts. NOTE: The schedule that is posted in September covers the entire period from Oct.1 - April 30! Please mark your calenders accordingly and arrange to be free during your scheduled time. Personal emergencies and other considerations can be addressed on a case by case basis with the scheduling officer, but be aware that changing the schedule is a difficult and time intensive task. Please do not ask to rearrange your schedule unless it is absolutely necessary. In order to best serve our patients we must be fully staffed every time we are open, regardless of the academic calender.

        MS1, MS2 and CHRP volunteers are required to attend at least three 4 hour shifts per semi-annual term. Each shift is four to five hours long. One shift must fulfill administrative responsibilities, the others may be as part of a clinical team (participating in direct patient care) if appropriate training has been fulfilled. Please note, due to the high volume of interest in volunteering at the Brooklyn Free Clinic, not all students who are interested in volunteering may be assigned a shift in the first term that they register. There are still plenty of other, very important ways to be involved in the Brooklyn Free Clinic other than doing actual clinical shifts, such as getting involved in one of our many committees.  

        MS3 and MS4 students are always assigned to be part of clinical teams and do not have any administrative shift requirements. The MS3 and MS4 schedules are created based around volunteers' individual rotation schedules. Please note, MS3 and MS4 students should include as complete a schedule as possible about their rotations, Step 1 and Step 2 exam dates, and residency interview schedules with their registration form when they register to volunteer with the Brooklyn Free Clinic.