As a chapter of the national nonprofit Remote Area Medical, Penn State Remote Area Medical (RAM) organizes, fund-raises for, and volunteers at popup clinics in nearby medically underserved areas. Each clinic provides free dental, medical, and vision care to hundreds of patients within a single weekend. Penn State RAM also regularly hosts guest speakers, supports local volunteer initiatives, offers some medical training opportunities, and holds social events. Penn State RAM is open to all undergraduate students of Penn State University Park and is a great extracurricular and volunteering opportunity for students interested in healthcare, especially those in pre-health tracks.
Why join Penn State RAM?
1. Impact.
With Penn State RAM, you can help serve hundreds of patients at a single clinic—more than almost any other volunteering opportunity! Further, RAM provides services (like dental extractions and glasses) that permanently improve quality of life. You can easily help thousands of patients each year with RAM, and these patients will benefit from your involvement for the rest of their lives.
2. Accessibility.
Volunteering with Penn State RAM is cheap and easily fits within a busy schedule. While other medical volunteering organizations charge thousands of dollars for a single trip, Penn State RAM only requires small annual dues ($25). There is no additional cost to volunteer at any Penn State RAM clinic, and transportation to and housing at clinics are provided for free. Penn State RAM clinic trips depart Friday afternoon and return Sunday night, so most members do not have to skip any classes or call off work to attend.
3. Involvement.
Penn State RAM has opportunities that fit every student interested in medicine. Whether you want to volunteer, fund-raise, or organize events, Penn State RAM is for you. The chapter’s events and volunteering opportunities can give unique insight into the medical field and its career paths, and guest speakers often share employment and volunteering opportunities. RAM is also a great way to get leadership experience: Penn State RAM has many executive positions to divide the work of maintaining a RAM chapter, so there are usually many executive positions available to members at the end of each spring semester.
