HFiT FREE CLINIC

Overview

The UCSD Health Frontiers in Tijuana Student-run Free Clinic (HFiT) is located in Tijuana's Zona Centro, an area where drug use and sex work are pervasive and hundreds of deportees and homeless live. HFiT is the product of a true, binational partnership between the UCSD School of Medicine, the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California School of Medicine (UABC), and Desayunador Salesiano "Padre Chava", a community grass roots organization in Tijuana. HFiT provides accessible, quality healthcare for the underserved in Tijuana's Zona Norte in a respectful environment where students, health professionals, patients, and community members from the border region learn from one another.

The Health Frontiers in Tijuana Undergraduate Internship Program (HFiT-UIP) is a quarterly internship that affords developmental experiences in public health and healthcare for the underserved and is especially appropriate for UCSD Global Health Majors and Minors. Students accepted into this program will participate in the HFiT binational student-run free clinic project located in Tijuana, Mexico, in conjunction with medical and pharmacy students from the University of California San Diego and Universidad Autonoma de Baja California. Upon completion of the HFiT-UIP, students will have learned about biomedical and social factors associated with communicable and non-communicable diseases seen among vulnerable populations in the San Diego-Tijuana region, shadowed clinical faculty during consultation, and been involved in ongoing UCSD research projects at the HFiT clinic.

The HFiT Program is a 10-week long, intensive immersion experience at the HFiT clinic open to all UCSD undergraduate, graduate and Medical Students. The HFiT program consists only of didactic and clinical activities and debriefings.  

Objectives

1. To familiarize students with underserved populations and border health issues endemic to the San Diego-Tijuana area.

2. To teach students how to interact and positively communicate with vulnerable populations.

3. To impart cultural competence through scholarly and experiential endeavors at the HFiT clinic.

4. To facilitate binational collaborations and partnerships with students from the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Tijuana.

Commitment

HFiT Course 

50 hours participating in HFiT clinical activities and training. Specific commitments include:

• 5 virtual visits to the HFiT clinic

• Enroll in the Health Frontiers in Tijuana Course

• Summer Sessions are 4 weeks long and require weekly visits to the HFiT Clinic in Mexico. 

Student Activities

Students will partake in various activities integral to the clinic's operation. These include:

• Case study discussions

• Patient intake registration 

• Shadowing consultations remotely in groups of 4 students

• Assist clinicians in recording clinical encounters

Debriefing 

Students will attend didactic sessions during the week to discuss clinical activities and HIPAA requirements. In these debriefing sessions, students will brainstorm ideas for improving clinical activities and help lead student-driven service and fundraising projects in the U.S. and at the HFiT clinic.

APPLY HERE TO THE HFIT GLBH PROGRAM!