Growing in popularity and necessity in recent years, street medicine gives medical students the opportunity to serve a patient population that is in the direst need of help—those without a place to live.
During a recent episode of “AMA Update,” Richard Bryce, DO—medical director of Street Medicine Detroit—gave insight on the value in meeting patients where they are and the role medical students can play in street medicine.
Dr. Bryce is also family medicine residency program director at Henry Ford Health—a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
For medical students looking to get involved in street medicine, here are some of the key takeaways from Dr. Bryce’s interview.
A student-driven movement
Dr. Bryce highlighted that all the medical schools in the state of Michigan have street medicine programs.
“The enthusiasm of medical students has really put street medicine on the map here,” he said. “And then what's exciting is they bring that compassion, and I think that has brought in so many other people, other attending physicians, other nurse practitioners and physician assistants, who really want to try to help in this fight, in this movement.”
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Growing your leadership
From wound care to helping patients secure IDs for government services, street medicine offers opportunities to solve problems. Medial students learn to adapt, innovate and deliver care in nontraditional settings, skills that translate to any physician specialty down the road.
As a residency program director for the past five years, Dr. Bryce has “had the chance to recruit multiple medical students that were part of our street medicine organization in Detroit that came as students, and now they're residents, and now they're leaders” in street medicine.
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Advocating for patients
Street medicine challenges medical students to see beyond the traditional health care model and advocate for patients in ways that address their real-world challenges. The work often involves navigating barriers to care and working with community organizations to help patients meet their needs.
“We are not the emergency department,” Dr. Bryce said. “We are not the primary care office. Really, what we are trying to be is the bridge to that primary care so that we can get them the services that they need. And fortunately, with many of our community partners, we're able to do that.”
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Valuable experience
Medical students may not have the most expansive base of clinical knowledge—and that’s why street medicine programs often rely on guidance from a practicing physician—but they often bring lots of compassion and are highly motivated to help. Street medicine offers medical students the chance to interact with patients and make a difference in their lives.
“Many of our patients really understand that role they play in terms of developing the future. And so they're able to share their vulnerabilities with our patients—or with our students and with our residents,” Dr. Bryce said. “And I'm so appreciative of that.”
Commit to community service
Street medicine offers medical students an opportunity to develop skills that residency programs value: empathy, adaptability, and a commitment to community service. Participating in initiatives like Street Medicine Detroit provides hands-on experience and helps students stand out on residency applications.
As often as medical students and others involved are able to help the people they encounter on the street get the medical care they need, the impact also runs in the other direction.
The people encountered in street medicine “make us not only better physicians, but also better human beings,” Dr. Bryce said. “I've just been so fortunate to have that opportunity—to be able to provide this care, but also learn how to be better as an individual as well.”
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