Why volunteer?

It’s a rewarding experience.

VIM San Diego offers a unique and rewarding structure, available nowhere else that we know of, to practice your skills and receive in return far more than you imagine. Our free clinic is by appointment only, so you won’t see a frustrated patient who has been waiting hours in reception. You will get 30 minutes for each appointment. Patients who are brimming with gratitude and bursting to tell you their story, and how wonderful it feels to be treated like they matter, who may not have gotten medical treatment for years and know (and appreciate) the value of what you are providing. 

It’s challenging work.

Seeing patients who have not had consistent health insurance often means multiple issues are involved. Your work will be invigorating, and your best skills will be needed and used. You will know these patients, and their trust and reliance on you will stretch you and infuse your work with passion. We guarantee it. 

You can positively impact patient care.

In your 30 minutes you might get to experience such things as…

…seeing a 6’ 4” man stand up straight, pain-free, for the first time in over a year and knowing that acupuncture has helped his condition.

…discovering that a woman who at age 45 never had an eye exam was able to have her eyes tested and receive her very first pair of eyeglasses.

…prescribing life-saving medication to a middle-aged woman with diabetes and hypertension which had gone untreated for years.

You will see these patients again, the most rewarding patients you will ever have.

You receive malpractice protection.

As a volunteer healthcare professional providing medical care at VIM San Diego, malpractice is covered by the Federal Tort Claims Administration (FTCA), which covers licensed or certified individuals who care for patients in a free clinic.

You’ll be part of a team.

You will work with people who are there because they want to be there. Your nurse is a volunteer. The receptionist is a volunteer. The scheduler, computer tech, and webmaster are volunteers. They are there for the same reason you are—to give something to others, soak in the joy of service, and in the end to feel more vibrant and alive.