Once again, medical students are eager to offer their services to patients and learn from the experienced physicians who volunteer at the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service, or DOCS, health fairs.

With almost all the elements in place, DOCS also has begun its first formal physician recruitment effort to meet the growing number of patients who visit the ten annual health fairs, the first of which will be held in Hialeah on September 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"In prior years students have always recruited physicians in whatever way possible - through our contacts with faculty, through working with doctors - but we didn't have an officially organized system of physician recruitment," said Eyal Maidan, (see profile in this issue) a fourth-year student who is the new executive director of DOCS. "We were finding that certain departments were better at recruiting their own physicians to volunteer, but there was no standardized way for accomplishing this. We are now putting a system in place to reach out to more physicians."

The expanded faculty recruitment is being led by second-year medical student Bhavana Pendurthi, and Anna Cristy Juncadella, a third-year medical student in charge of DOCS external affairs.

"We have had a very positive response from various departments at the Miller School," said Juncadella. "We have had great meetings with the faculty physicians at Grand Rounds, staff meetings and other venues. We are hoping to finalize commitments for this season's fairs soon and invite any UM physician, attending or resident, interested in volunteering to join us."

Maidan says physicians who have previously volunteered often make the best recruiters. They know the experience not only affords the opportunity to conduct important outreach, but also exposes even seasoned physicians to situations that become practical examples of treatment.

Alex J. Mechaber, M.D., senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education, has volunteered at the various health fairs for many years.

"The educational mission of the Miller School of Medicine is to graduate physicians with the ability and desire to improve the health of all populations through leadership in patient care, education, research and in the community," said Mechaber, who is also associate professor of medicine and director of the clinical skills program and competency assessment. "I am proud to be at an institution that has a great tradition of providing service to the community and values incorporating service learning into our education programs. Providing service while learning medicine is transformative and will better equip our students for their future practices in the community."

Although DOCS is student-run, volunteer physicians such as Mechaber have helped the organization earn the stellar reputation it has today, says third-year student Kelvin Allenson, training director of the group.

"We are known for this collaborative student-physician partnership that not only provides valuable screening services to underserved patient populations within the community, but is an excellent resource for students to learn first-hand from experienced physicians in the field and supplement their education outside of the classroom," Allenson said.

Last year, 134 physicians volunteered at the health fairs, serving nearly 2,000 patients. Students donated more than 6,500 hours of service, offering patients health education and a battery of tests, including eye exams, lipid panels and Pap smears.

In addition to the Hialeah Health Fair, DOCS health fairs for the remainder of the year are scheduled for October 30 in Little Haiti; November 13 in Tavernier (Upper Keys Health Fair); and December 5 in south Miami-Dade County.

In 2011, the DOCS season will continue with the Florida Keys Health Fairs (in Big Pine Key, Marathon and Key West) on January 22; the Pompano Beach Health Fair on February 19; the Jack and Jill Health Fair in Fort Lauderdale on March 5; and the Liberty City Health Fair on March 12. Plans are already well under way to celebrate the Big Pine Key anniversary.

For more information, please contact DOCS program manager Raysa Christodoulou at 305-243-4898 or rchristodoulou@med.miami.edu.