Student Clinical Opportunities for Premedical Experience (SCOPE)

Student Clinical Opportunities for Premedical Experience (SCOPE) is a student-run volunteer program based out of Stanford University that places medical volunteers and medical interpreters in the Emergency Department (ED) at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Medical volunteers improve overall ED workflow by prepping medical equipment for procedures, assisting during traumas by collecting patient belongings and by conducting ‘comfort rounds’ to check-in with patients during the duration of their hospital stay. Additionally, for students with either Spanish or Vietnamese language ability, they can also apply to be medical interpreters – a particularly valuable service since the hospital does not staff in-house interpreters overnight or during the weekend. SCOPE members gain meaningful clinical experience through each of their nine-hour shifts, mentorship from physicians they work with, and support from the broad and diverse SCOPE community.

Service required by group to fulfill a Cardinal Commitment: Students must volunteer in the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Emergency Department for 9-hour shifts, that coincides with individual doctors’ own shifts, for a minimum of 200 service hours. Volunteers need to conduct themselves in a respectful, helpful, curious and compassionate manner, sign-in and sign-out at the hospital and submit a 750-word reflection journal following each shift.

Cardinal Commitment Mentor: Stanford Medical Student assigned to play a supervisory role each year