GMED 705MA Introduction to Street Medicine

Credits: 1
This course is designed to be an introduction to street medicine for students in their pre-clinical years. The aim would be to expose medical students to evidence-based medicine in a multidisciplinary setting with a variety of medical professionals to assist patients with an array of primary care-based problems and urgent medical issues and ultimately connect clients with more longitudinal forms of primary-care, mental health or community-based resources. Additionally, this course will give students an opportunity to explore some of the complex system and personal issues faced by those experiencing homelessness. This 12- week course will consist of 4 volunteer shifts with Portland Street Medicine (PSM) and an option to volunteer more hours, as time allows. PSM is a collaborative, non-profit organization made up of a coalition of volunteers which is dedicated to providing high quality and reliable medical care as well as street outreach to some of Portland’s most vulnerable citizens who are experiencing unstable housing or sleeping on the streets. During these shifts, students will work with a combination of staff, never alone, such as physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, scribes, social workers, peer advisors and those with lived experience in homelessness and substance use to evaluate, diagnose and treat numerous health ailments in the context of a limited resource setting. Students will be supervised by internal medicine or family medicine physicians, will be able to attend volunteer sessions independent of other medical students signed up for the course, and have the autonomy to do hands on assessments. Prior to the start of the volunteer experiences, students will have an introduction to the epidemiology, population health and treatment approaches to working with this population.

Graded: Pass/No pass
May be taken only once for credit