How do I begin volunteering with KNIGHTS Clinic?
Please contact our clinic’s medical director, Dr. Pasarica, at Magdalena.Pasarica@ucf.edu. You may also contact the Physician Coordinators Lucy Wu and Gabriel Krivenko at communityreferrals.knights@gmail.com. They will be able to provide you with and help you through the necessary paperwork to begin the volunteer process.
Am I liable for the work that I do, if a patient decides to sue?
No, the Sovereign Immunity document protects all physicians who volunteer their time protection from potential lawsuits originating with a patient seen in the clinic.
How many patients will I see each night?
Each night, physicians will see 2-3 patients. This provides optimal time for instruction of the students.
What demographic of patients will I be seeing?
All patients are uninsured residents of Central Florida who reside at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Our goal is to provide acute and ongoing, quality medical care for a patient population that currently struggles to access good medical care.
What if patients require follow-up?
We will schedule patients to come back in as directed by the physician who saw the patient. You are not required to be present when the patient comes for a return visit, but if you would like to be that is definitely something we can schedule.
If patients need to be seen prior to the next Knights clinic, the physicians from Grace Medical Home will see the patients for follow-up during a daytime appointment.
Immediate Follow – Up: If patients have blood work done or a culture that needs to be sent out, the student pairs will make sure to check the values when they come in and consult with the volunteer physician, via e-mail, on what further care is needed. The student pair will then call the patient informing them of their lab results and any follow-up visit, if they need to be scheduled for one
What opportunities are there for teaching?
Volunteer physicians will help instruct pairs of medical students. On clinic night, student pairs will perform a history and physical exam, document their note in the electronic health record, and develop an initial assessment and plan they will present to the volunteer physician who will provide feedback and instruction.
Volunteer physicians will then see the patient themselves, and with the students decide on the best plan.
What physician specialties are needed?
We are currently looking for physicians of all specialties to help with the clinic. On a regular basis we need 2-3 physicians each night of the clinic that are comfortable seeing primary care patients.
Additionally, on clinic nights, at least once a month, we hold specialty nights where we will have a particular specialty, such as cardiology or neurology, come and see patient consults.
When does the clinic meet?
Currently, the clinic is twice a month on Thursdays from 6:00-9:00 PM at Grace Medical Home (1417 E Concord St, Orlando, FL 32803). Our goal is to expand our times to have the clinic once a week.
Will I be the only physician at the clinic?
No, there will always be at least two physicians scheduled to see patients each night. Additionally, we will always have an acting medical director at the clinic, or on call, to oversee the workings of the clinic in case any questions arise.
What services are available to use at the clinic?
Medications: We have the following in-house medications that can be given during an appointment:
Aspirin
Rocephin
Albuterol
Xopenex
Ipratropium Bromide
Kenalog
Phenergan
Toradol
B-12
Clonodine
Epinephrine
Dyphenhydramine
Solu-Medrol
Nitrostat
Bicilin CR
Dispensary – Our dispensary has a wide range of sample OTC and prescription medications.
(PAP) Medications – We have office personnel that will help patients sign up for the Pharmaceutical Patient Assistance Program Medications.
Other meds – We have lists of reduced price/free medications from Publix, Target and Walmart in each exam room and at the nurse’s station.
Immunizations -While we keep all children’s vaccines on hand, we also have Pneumovax, Tdap, and Gardasil for adults (as well as Influenza when it is Flu Season).
Mental Health – We have four in-house mental health therapists who can see patients once a week.
Imaging – Grace offers standard x-rays and very limited availability of MRIs, CTs and Ultrasounds.
Office Procedures – We can do in-house EKGs, PFTs, pulse ox, nebulizer treatments, hearing tests and tympanograms.
Referrals – Patient referrals outside of Grace can be complicated. We have both a full time social worker and triage nurse who work on necessary patient referrals.