| About DOT | | Print | |
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Doctors of Tomorrow (DOT) is a national, non-profit organization for students, which encourages leadership, career development, and volunteer service. Lacey Freeman, who is the current president of the Board of Directors, founded DOT in 2008 in Paragould, Arkansas. Doctors of Tomorrow centers it’s efforts around improving health and healthcare. Local clubs plan and participate in various health improvement projects and volunteer in hospitals around the United States. Any student, who meets the 3.0 GPA membership requirement, can start or be a part of a DOT club. The primary goals of Doctors of Tomorrow are to allow students to explore their interest in the medial profession and to allow these students to fulfill their desire to help others through health-related volunteer work. DOT accomplishes its goals by ensuring that each chapter has a medical "link" to the community and can offer its members vital opportunities, such as physician mentors and shadowing opportunities. Chapters also sponsor health fairs, volunteer at free clinics, and participate in various other activities that educate the community about proper healthcare and wellness. Doctors of Tomorrow offers students a structured community in which to begin the journey of becoming a physician. DOT strives to allow each chapter to grow itself and to develop into the kind of club that is most beneficial to its individual members. Basically, a DOT club can be anything that will benefit its members and the surrounding community the most, as long as each activity of the club either: promotes the medical field, aids students in the medical educational process, or helps the local community improve its health in some way. Most DOT clubs participate in activities that allow their members to give back to the community and learn at the same time. For instance, most DOT members are involved in some sort of hospital or clinic volunteer work. This allows members to not only aid the ill, but to also acquire valuable insight into their future careers. DOT is simply an organization of students who are not content to repress their urge to help others while they wander down the long path that leads to becoming a physician. DOT offers a way that students can focus on their future career goals, while also focusing on their desires to help others, which is what prompted them to become physicians in the first place. DOT exists to ensure that students are not forced to forget the humane side of medicine while they are becoming educated. |
