This is an OTD residency opportunity in the Advanced Clinical Practice track.
Keck School of Medicine Street Medicine Team
About Keck Street Medicine Team
The Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Street Medicine program is an emerging collaboration of interdisciplinary health care professionals that aims to improve care for the homeless while advocating for health care justice in Los Angeles through medical and social service outreach and research. The city’s homeless population encounters numerous barriers to primary health care despite experiencing a disproportionate burden of acute and chronic health issues. The vast majority of homeless people are not living in shelters and have little to no medical care available to them. Street Medicine serves the homeless community by providing direct care on the streets and under bridges to the unsheltered and hardest to reach populations.
All care is provided free of charge and delivered on-site, including dispensing medications and drawing blood for testing. The Street Medicine movement has grown exponentially in recent years and is now active in more than 60 American cities. Not only does Street Medicine offer care — often lifesaving care — but it also reduces costs for communities by addressing many health concerns before they intensify. Under the direction of Brett Feldman, MSPAS, PA-C — an internationally recognized expert on Street Medicine — our program offers services that address the circumstances that undermine the mental, physical and emotional well-being of our city’s homeless. The team includes a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, a community health worker and an occupational therapist.
About the residency
As an occupational therapy doctoral resident in this setting, you will be responsible to collaborate with other members of the Street Medicine team to optimize the health of persons experiencing ‘homelessness’. Since this is understood as a primary care practice context the role of the occupational therapist is to address both the physical and behavioral health needs of the ‘patient’s, including street survival in the face of multiple medical comorbidities. A particular focus of the work of the occupational therapist is to provide functional cognition consultations to address the cognitive adaptation and support needs of this population.
Priority selection will go to students who have successfully completed a community mental health fieldwork, preferably Level II, and completed the Primary Care elective, and are available to complete their final Level II fieldwork with Keck Street Medicine team. Interviews will be with the Keck Street Medicine OTD Residency Faculty Mentor and Brett Feldman.
Financial support
The opportunity offers a Chan Division financial award of 24 units of tuition support plus a stipend.
Contact information
Interested students should contact Dr. Deborah Pitts at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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