Clinica Tepati is a student-run clinic which has provided free primary health-care services to the uninsured population of Sacramento and the surrounding area since 1974. The clinic is a nonprofit entity which both originated with and is managed by undergraduate and medical students from UC Davis. They are committed to serving the needs of the medically indigent. The clinic was founded by a highly motivated group of Chicano/Latino students who wished to address the need for culturally-sensitive care to the underserved Latino population of Sacramento. It continues this mission today. The clinic operates out of space donated by the Sacramento County Department of Health. It is staffed by attending physicians, medical students, and undergraduates, who generously donate their time. On average, twenty-five uninsured patients are seen each Saturday for a wide range of primary care services including prenatal care, well baby/child exams, immunizations, STD prevention and management, physical examinations, patient education and counseling, pediatric care, geriatric care, outpatient management of hypertension and diabetes, and numerous other services.

In keeping with Clinica Tepati's commitment to the Latino population, it provides translation services for patients enabling them to communicate effectively with those staff members who do not speak Spanish. It serves as the primary (in most cases the only) source of health care for over one thousand patients per year. At the same time, Clinica Tepati provides clinical training for medical students and clinical experience for undergraduates, many of whom are interested in pursuing careers in the health-care field. Through their work at the clinic, these students are able to gain first-hand experience in the management of a clinic and patient care, thereby providing them a better insight into the practice of medicine. In addition, they have extensive interaction with physicians, medical students, and health-care workers who act as positive role models and advisers. By encouraging the involvement of students from minority groups which have been traditionally underrepresented in the medical field, and by providing education and support to these students, Clinica Tepati helps build a strong foundation for their pursuit of a medical education. Working together the students handle all aspects of clinic operations.

The Board of Directors is comprised entirely of undergraduate and medical students who make policy decisions for the clinic, maintain the clinic administration and oversee various committees that address physician recruitment, patient referrals, pharmacy and laboratory linkages, fundraising, clinical training and patient file management. The board also plans a class for the volunteers, in which they learn about various issues regarding health policy, patient care and such issues as medical school admissions processes. The board also serves as the major conduit for information flow to the clinic committees. Every year one to three physicians, generally senior residents from the Department of Family Practice at UC Davis, serve as medical directors of the clinic. They, and other volunteer faculty physicians, comprise an advisory committee that oversees patient care quality assurance.

Clinica Tepati has approximately 50 undergraduate volunteers. These students work on one of six committees, each of which is responsible for a specific function of the clinic. These include pharmacy, publicity, health management, computer operations, clinical skills, and referrals. Within each committee, students work together as problem-solvers, striving to make each committee as effective as possible and to achieve the day-to-day goals of the clinic. Each committee works to enable the clinic to continually adapt to community needs. For example, in the past several years Clinica Tepati has worked alongside the Latin American Nurse Association to organize an annual health fair for the community. All of the committees function in tandem to organize this event, with the publicity committee working to advertise the event, the clinical skills committee providing training to health fair volunteers, and so on.

Medical students represent a major component of the strength of Clinica Tepati. The majority of the almost 400 students who attend UC Davis School of Medicine volunteer to work at Clinica Tepati at some time during the course of their training, with approximately 50 students acting as a core of "regulars" who dedicate a significant amount of their already limited spare time to working at the clinic. From their very first days of medical school, the students can begin to interview patients, learn to perform physical exams, and gain invaluable clinical experience unmatched at most other medical schools, while at the same time serving the community and gaining the benefits derived through giving generously of oneself.

Team work is the most vital factor in determining the clinic's success. Board members are member of other committees; ad hoc work groups form to solve specific problems; medical students work with undergraduates and physicians to heal, to learn and to teach. The atmosphere created is one of an extended family where each person feels comfortable and free to express his or her creativity. The efforts of each individual add to the whole, which then becomes much more than merely the sum of all the individual parts, assuming a life and a spirit of its own. This spirit is what motivates and inspires members of Clinica Tepati to constantly strive to improve both the clinic and themselves.