Involving medical students in the planning and delivery of a vaccination and health screening outreach clinic

ABSTRACT

Improving access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness can be achieved via outreach clinics. Involving medical students in homeless healthcare projects leads to increased understanding of the social determinants of health and positive changes in student perception of this vulnerable patient group. Projects such as this can increase the social accountability of medical schools, with the potential to have a positive effect on health in the local community. Third-year medical students on GP placement were given the opportunity to design and deliver temporary clinics to the homeless population in Corby with the support of Public Health Northamptonshire. The study aimed to evaluate this educational intervention by exploring the students’ motivation, experience and ideas on sustainability of the project via a focus group. Humanitarianism and the opportunity to meet patients face-to-face during the pandemic were motivating factors for joining the project. Students felt the educational experience was valuable, providing exposure to a patient group not often encountered in medical school. They gained an understanding of some of the challenges faced by this population. Some said this project forced them to address their unconscious biases and cited that to be a reason why projects like this should be mandatory. The learning experience made students consider funding and the organisation of healthcare. This study found that hands-on learning can provide educational and rewarding experiences for medical students. Positive experiences in the GP setting may impact career choices and allow them consider leadership and public health.

KEYWORDS:

• Undergraduate medical education
• health inequalities
• homelessness
• service learning
• experiential learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical considerations

The study received ethical approval from the University of Leicester Medicine and Biological Sciences Research Ethics Committee.

Additional information

Funding

This study was undertaken as part of an Academic Leadership and Management Foundation Programme placement with the University of Leicester and the Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Foundation School. Resources for the clinics were provided by Public Health Northamptonshire.