Street medicine: An interprofessional elective to address the unhoused population crisis
Bunker-Alberts, Michele; Scheftz, Erin; Molga, Heidi; Gatto, Andrew; Fisher, Emily; Khalafalla, Farid G.
Why this matters
Street medicine education can prepare future clinicians to care for unhoused patients with fewer assumptions and a better understanding of the barriers they face. Thirty medical, pharmacy, and physician assistant students completed a street medicine elective, and post-course reflections showed it challenged their biases and introduced interprofessional approaches to care.
Abstract
The homelessness crisis continues to escalate nationwide, yet many healthcare providers are not adequately prepared to provide care for unhoused patients. An interprofessional elective was developed to address knowledge gaps. Thirty students participated (17 osteopathic medical, 5 pharmacy, 8 physician assistant/public health). Analysis of post-course reflections showed the course challenged biases, equipped students with new perspectives on specialized healthcare needs, and demonstrated interprofessional approaches. The Street Medicine elective provided a structured interprofessional curricular opportunity on specialized care for unhoused individuals.