Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Students Deliver Free Care for Bay Area Community at Suitcase Clinics

Every few Tuesdays throughout the school year, Samuel Merritt University College of Podiatric Medicine (SMU CPM) students volunteer at free community clinics hosted by UC Berkeley pre-med students, providing basic podiatric care, footwear, and wound-care support to under-resourced and unhoused patients in Berkeley, CA. These “Suitcase Clinics” give Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) students supervised, hands-on experience before rotations, teaching them to navigate a patient visit with standard practices like listening, asking questions, examining and ultimately treating through tasks like diabetic foot exams, toenail trims, callus debridement, and wound care.

“It gives us a chance to experience what it means to treat this kind of community,” reflects Connor Jow, third-year DPM student and president of SMU’s American Public Health Association (APHA) club, which organizes SMU CPM’s involvement in the Suitcase Clinics. “These patients haven't seen a doctor in a while…maybe ever. It’s our chance to give that human connection and help them feel comfort in the treatment we give them.”

Dr. Colleen Kenney, DPM, often supervises DPM students at Suitcase Clinics as their physician attending. A California College of Podiatric Medicine (SMU CPM’s previous name) ’85 alumna, Dr. Kenney has been involved in Suitcase Clinics for the past ten years. “Teaching has been an important part of my professional life,” she says. 

One of the things Dr. Kenney hopes to instill in students during clinics is to look beyond the patient's feet. “I encourage them to think about the patient as a whole and understand how the disease process affects the entire body,” she explains. 

Dr. Kenney particularly enjoys how the third year students mentor the first and second year students, reflecting that the experience of the Suitcase Clinic provides camaraderie.

In their first year, students at Suitcase Clinic begin by scribing and recording patient history, exam findings, and assessments, while second-year students lead patient visits. Third- and fourth-year students, who have already begun their clinical rotations, mentor and oversee care alongside the physician attending. 

Third-year DPM students, Madeleine Nagle and Kristian Shin, who are also Suitcase Clinic directors in the APHA club, describe the clinics as a setting where students can build confidence with the safety net of more experienced students and physician supervision in place.

Nagle elaborates that students get to practice podiatric care in “a very safe space with upperclassmen mentors that are going to show you what you need to do, that are going to correct you if you're doing something wrong.” Shin describes the clinics as a valuable experience both for students building their skills and for the local community receiving care.

First-year DPM student, Vincent Senneca, thinks Suitcase Clinics are the perfect setting for first-year students to start practicing. Before even taking classes on the foot or biomechanics, Senneca and his classmates gain onsite experience with patients for the first time  and learn from their peers. 

“As third-years now,” reflects Nagle, “it's very gratifying to be able to give back and see the next generation practice their skills and become more confident in themselves.” As students grow more comfortable, Jow encourages them to take the lead in conducting visits while upper-level students provide mentorship.

Looking Ahead

For Dr. Kenney, expanding Suitcase Clinics to other settings would mean more “consistent, hands-on exposure that allows students to build their confidence, develop their clinical judgment.”

For many students in the APHA club, expanding Suitcase Clinics would also mean getting the Adopt-a-Shoe program off the ground—an initiative to measure patients’ feet, determine appropriate shoe types and sizes, and bring shoes to future clinics. "A lot of patients will come in asking us for shoes, and we tend not to carry them with us," explains Nagle.

Second-year DPM student Marian Angel Espana notes that many of the issues this patient population faces stem from how much walking they do, and that these issues can often be remedied with orthotics or proper shoes. 

Outside of Suitcase Clinics, the APHA club plans to host workshops on campus for students to practice their skills before rotations begin. Jow hopes this year’s workshops will go beyond the basics, covering more advanced skills like callus debridement, suturing, and ankle taping which require blades, additional supplies, and attending supervision.

Much of this growth depends on alumni like Dr. Kenney, who has spent a decade showing up for students long after her own training ended. Alumni interested in serving as an attending physician at Suitcase Clinics or similar events can reach out to the College of Podiatric Medicine at cpm@samuelmerrit.edu to get involved.