University of Cincinnati Department of Family and Community Medicine

Kerry Lyons, Summer 2013

Interning with the UC Department of Family Medicine, my summer was divided between a clinical setting and completing various projects to benefit our patient population. The majority of my clinical time was spent at the McMicken Health Collaborative Clinic, which provides free health care to homeless patients. Working at the clinic, I was able to have daily opportunities to practice patient care skills, like history taking and patient education, and I also learned a significant amount of clinical information. Even more importantly, working with homeless patients helped me to learn about the common circumstances and challenges of their situation that frequently impacted their ability to access health care and to follow through with treatment plans. I had the opportunity to work on a nutrition project evaluating patient nutrition as well as the food served at the local shelters and kitchens. Interviewing patients and agency staff members provided an eye-opening experience to the many challenges that patients face when trying to improving their lifestyle to promote health and well-being. In addition to working at McMicken, I spent some time going out on the Mobile Medical Van with Dr. Kiesler to local agencies like the Jimmy Health House and the Drop Inn Center. I also had the opportunity to shadow in the McMicken Dental Clinic, at the Center for Respite Care, and with Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services.

When I wasn't doing clinical work, I updated the Homeless and Community Resource Map and developed a photobook for the Racetrack Photovoice Project. The Homeless and Community Resource Map is a compilation of Cincinnati agencies that provide services for homeless citizens, including health care, housing, shelter, food assistance, education, and substance-abuse treatment. I contacted agencies to verify contact information, learn more about their services, and identify new community organizations. This project familiarized me with the local agencies that provide aid to homeless individuals, how they operate, and the services that they offer. I also worked on developing a photobook with photos from the Racetrack Photovoice Project. Photovoice is a social justice tool that can be used to tell about the experience of an individual or population. In the Racetrack Photovoice Project, individuals who worked at a local racetrack were given cameras to document significant aspects of their daily life, and then narrated the photos. Following the completion of this project, I developed a photobook to highlight their experience.

Overall, I could not have asked for a better summer experience. I strengthened my clinical skills, worked with amazing physicians, and got a real education in how to care for individuals with a variety of problems and limited resources. Most of all, I had the opportunity to talk with patients and connect with them as people. Before this summer, although I never would have admitted it to myself, I viewed homeless individuals in the same way that the majority of our culture does, as broken individuals with little to offer society, people whose poor choices had gotten them to their current state at the bottom. After spending time working with and caring for homeless patients, the phrase "homeless" no longer conjures judgments about what that person is like, how they live, or the choices they make. I have learned to approach a homeless patient as I would any other—as an individual. I have learned to ask questions instead of making assumptions, and to appreciate that people are always doing the best that they think they can. Following my experience this summer, my perspective is best described by a sign hanging in the office at the McMicken Clinic, "Be kind, for everyone is fighting a difficult battle".