Medical Volunteers

At Clinic by the Bay, volunteers are essential to our mission and operations. Not only does Clinic by the Bay offer equitable health care, we also provide an opportunity for meaningful civic engagement and multi-generational learning.  More than half of our operating budget is received through the in-kind services of our volunteer staff. We engage retired and practicing medical professionals, medical students, and folks with various expertise as volunteers to provide compassionate, high-quality health care for low-income, uninsured adults in our community.

Often in the healthcare field, medical staff are limited by what care the patient can afford. However at Clinic by the Bay, our volunteers practice the art of medicine, rather than the business of healthcare.  Our model also allows for medical students to learn from the vast combined experience of our retired doctors and nurses as the students support and work alongside them as receptionists, scribes, interpreters, prescription assistants and in other essential clinic roles.

Join Our Volunteer Medical Clinic Today

Available Medical Volunteer Roles

  • Medical Provider

    MD or DO

  • Pharmacist

    RPh

  • Psychotherapist

    LMHC, PsyD, LCSW, LMFT

  • Nurse Practitioner

    NP

  • Physician's Assistant

    PA-C

  • Physical Therapist

    DPT

  • Nurse

    RN License

  • Health Coach

    Certified Health Coach

  • Clinic Support

    EMT/CNA/MA/EMT

  • Prescription Assistance

    Intern Pharmacist Certificate

 Medical Volunteer FAQs

  • All patient facing roles require a license/certification but unlicensed individuals can volunteer in one of our non-medical roles.


  • Yes, Clinic by the Bay protects our volunteer medical providers. Providers do not need to pay for their own malpractice insurance to volunteer with us.

  • Volunteers are welcome to wear anything that makes them comfortable as long as they are wearing closed toed shoes. If you are a provider, please bring your white coat and stethoscope with you. You can wear scrubs if you prefer but it is not required. Name Tags and masks are provided at the clinic.

  • Our patient appointments are scheduled on Tuesdays (12pm-8pm) and Thursdays (10am-6pm). Volunteers have control of their own schedule, signing up for the open shifts that work best for their personal schedule. Shifts are typically broken up into 4 hour blocks but accommodations can be made if necessary. Shift options:

    Tuesdays: 11:30am-4pm or 4pm-8:30pm

    Thursdays: 9:30am-1:30pm or 1:30pm-6pm

  • Intern/Extern opportunities are based on availability and role. We can host the following students: NP students and MPH interns. We currently do not have the ability to host MA externs. If you are interested in the availability of slots for internships, please email volunteer@clinicbythebay.org

  • Unfortunately, we do not offer provider shadowing at the clinic.

  • Letters of recommendation and verification of hours can be requested after 100 hours of service. Letters of recommendation, regardless of number of years or hours served, are given on a case-by-case basis.

Please fill out a volunteer application and we will contact you as soon as possible to start with an initial phone screening

Contact us at 415.405.0207 ext.305 or volunteer@clinicbythebay.org to learn more about volunteering today.

How to Become a Volunteer