Street Medicine

Catalog description

Street Medicine is the fast-growing field of medicine dedicated to providing primary care and urgent care to people experiencing homelessness-meeting patients where they live, in encampments, under bridges, and in alleys, providing safe and effective care in the field. In this two or four-week elective, students will integrate into the Street Medicine Kalamazoo (SMKz00) team and will have the opportunity to take longitudinal ownership for the care of new and existing patients on the SMKzoo patient panel for four weeks. Students will work closely with an interprofessional team that includes physicians, pharmacists, and social workers to provide primary care and social services to precariously housed, unhoused, and unsheltered unhoused individuals in Kalamazoo. This population has unique health needs and considerations. Students will gain skills in treating common primary care concerns as well as conditions more prevalent in unsheltered unhoused individuals. They will also gain experience in utilizing point of care ultrasound and performing ambulatory procedures in the field/pop-up clinic setting. During this elective, students are immersed in the social determinants of health of this population, helping to coordinate care and breakdown barriers to care in order to help patients achieve their health goals. Regardless of their future career goals, students will find benefit from practicing this inclusive style of medicine during this elective. Students will gain insight into social determinants of health and inclusion medicine that is sought after by residency programs.