MS4 Catalog

Community Health and Street Medicine

LOCATION: Harpers Ferry Family Medicine
PRECEPTOR: Madison Humerick, MD
DURATION: 2 or 4 weeks
OFFERED: All Blocks except 8, 9 & 10 
MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT: 1
STATUS: Elective

OBJECTIVES:

The purpose of this Community Health and Street Medicine elective is to expose students to mobile, comprehensive primary care for underserved patients experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders, and mental health disorders. The care is delivered using several models including a drop-in clinic, home visits, and Street Medicine rounds.  The comprehensive education and care addresses the public health priorities of substance use, maternal child health (including maternal substance use), family planning (including prevention of teen and undesired pregnancy through decreasing barriers to access of long-acting reversible contraception), screening and treatment of infectious disease (including hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis), mental health, homelessness, food insecurity, and care for persons with disabilities and the elderly. 

Students will explore community health resources, epidemiology of disease, health promotion and wellness, community health education, and public health services.  Students will get the opportunity to interact with community health partners including Jefferson County Community Ministries, Jefferson and Berkeley County Health Department, the Berkeley County Harm Reduction team and Berkeley County Resource Center personnel, Jefferson County Quick Response Team (assists in connecting patients with substance use resources), Jefferson County Adult Drug Court, our WVU Eastern Division substance use treatment teams, home health services, and Hospice of the Panhandle.

Patient Care:

  1. Take an appropriate psychosocial history from vulnerable patient populations, including patients experiencing homelessness
  2. Take an appropriate history from patients on wellness related topics: food insecurity, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress from patients
  3. Conduct a substance use assessment including identifying co-occurring mental health conditions using motivational interviewing techniques to engage patients in discussing their substance use patterns
  4. Identify community resources for patients with Opioid Use Disorder, other substance use disorders, mental health disorders, those experiencing homelessness, and persons with disabilities and the geriatric population
  5. Understand how food insecurity, poor nutrition, inadequate physical activity, and psychosocial factors contribute to acute and chronic illness
  6. Identify community resources to assist in barriers to healthy nutrition, physical activity, stress management
  7. Identify screening and prevention guidelines and barriers to preventive health testing and screenings

Medical Knowledge:

  1. Understand how homelessness affects patients’ health and wellbeing
  2. Understand how food insecurity, poor nutrition, inadequate physical activity, and psychosocial factors contribute to acute and chronic illness
  3. Learn about the opioid epidemic in Appalachia and current practices to affect change (MAT, Harm Reduction, Mobile Medical Units)
  4. Learn about public health concerns regarding increasing incidence and prevalence of Hepatitis C and HIV in Appalachia
  5. Learn about screening methods and treatment of Hepatitis C and screening for HIV in high-risk populations 

Practice-Based Learning:

  1. Understand the principles of epidemiology and their application in history taking, physical examination, age-appropriate screening, cost effectiveness, medically appropriate testing and the social context of disease
  2. Understand local, regional, and national incidence and prevalence of acute and chronic diseases.
  3. Understand seasonal variation of a wide range of acute and chronic illness
  4. Understand behavioral strategies to promote behavioral change to encourage patient wellness

Communication Skills:

  1. Demonstrate effective and respectful communication techniques with patients, ensuring a non-judgmental and empathetic approach that minimizes stigma
  2. Understand the role of the physician in community health education
  3. Identify health literacy and cultural barriers that may interfere with effective communication, education, and management of chronic diseases in specific patient populations
  4. Identify different forms of community health education and partners in the area
  5. Participate in giving nutrition and wellness education to patients and the community (i.e. Community Meal, health fairs, and community events like Loving Our Community)

Professionalism:

  1. Demonstrates Professional Behavior: i.e. shows up to the rotation activities on time, dresses appropriately, and interacts professionally with community partners, public health officials, and other providers, faculty and staff
  2. Treats patients with respect and compassion

Systems-Based Practice: 

  1. Identifies specific population and community health needs and inequities in their local population
  2. Uses local resources effectively to meet the needs of a patient population and community
  3. Gain an understanding of the interaction on a local, state, national and international level of the private and public arenas in management of health issues for individuals and populations
  4. Able to identify and gather appropriate data to track public health issues 

METHODS TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES:

In-Person Rotation, Readings and Didactic lectures as assigned by preceptor

Formative Assessment

Students’ performance will be assessed by the preceptor based on their mastery of the core competencies as stated previously

Summative Assessment

Students will receive credit for the rotation by participating in person in the rotation without any unexcused absences and performing at their appropriate clinical level

PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF THE ROTATION:

WVU SoM students must contact the Office of Student Services, Eastern Division, two weeks prior to beginning of rotation to determine where to report. Phone: (304) 596-6312.