Freemont Rural Health Coalition

Hi! I’m Leslie, a third year MSTP student and one of the student leaders of the Fremont Rural Health Coalition.

Leslie Chang, MS3/MSTP

Once a month, three first year medical students and two third year medical students embark on an adventure to Fremont, NC. I hadn’t heard of Durham before I interviewed at Duke, let alone Fremont. Well, in case you’re like me, Fremont is a rural town with a population of about 1300 located an hour and a half from Durham, NC. Every month, these five medical students make the journey out there to provide free care for patients under the supervision of an attending. Working at Fremont is a unique experience for both first and third year medical students. First year students have the opportunity to experience primary care in a rural setting and practice taking vitals, leading the patient interview and physical examination, which is quite a bit of independence and responsibility this early in their training! I had the opportunity to go last Saturday and as a third year student, I took on more of a teaching role – guiding the first year medical student through the patient interaction. It was a really cool experience because just 5 months ago, I was still learning how to measure a HgbA1c from the resident. But last Saturday, I was walking the first year medical student through her first HgbA1c measurement! 

In addition, I’ve gone behind the scenes and learned more about the practical aspects of what it takes to run a clinic on a tight budget and how much simple tests like HgbA1c costs. I’ve also caught a glimpse of what it was like living in a rural area such as Fremont, NC and the challenges in providing healthcare to those with minimal access. But the best part is that all care is student-provided with ample opportunity and most importantly, time, to hear the patients’ stories and perform thorough physicals. I’m thankful that I was able to participate in this opportunity to serve and lead through Fremont!