CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2021 - 13

COL L EG E
13
HANDS-ON MEDICAL AND
ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES
Working closely with Boyd-Trull, Harpin, and Nachtman,
the students began shaping what a street medicine student
interest organization could be, drawing guidance from the
Street Medicine Institute. They worked closely with the CU
School of Medicine and College of Nursing administration,
talked with their fellow students about the education they
were receiving on working with people experiencing
homelessness, gauged interest, and presented to community
organizations, including the Commerce City Police
Department (CCPD).
" When they presented their proposal to the police department,
PD was excited to make the connection. They
understood that providing street medicine was an important
step in establishing our community partnership, "
Nachtman says.
As a student organization, CU Street Medicine serves as a
nexus of information and resources. Students interested
in medical outreach are connected with Yahweh
Health Clinic and those interested in non-clinical
services are referred to Nachtman for hands-on
volunteer and advocacy opportunities.
Students who volunteer with Yahweh Health
Clinic or the City of Commerce City learn about
giving trauma-informed care, " based on the idea
that everyone we work with has experienced
some sort of trauma, and that may cause them
to respond to things in certain ways that may not
be your way of responding to things, and that's
OK, " Nachtman explains.
" One of the reasons our partnership with Sarah
is so important is because students are able to go
out with her one-on-one and it's almost like private
tutoring, " Connelly says. " Should someone
react to something in a way that (the student)
isn't used to, Sarah can walk them through why
they might have reacted that way, because she has
long-standing relationships, she's worked hard to
rebuild that trust. "
" The thing we're asking is how do we create real, meaningful change
for this population? " Boyd-Trull says. " How do we set this up so more
and more people can be aware and see these needs as real things that
are happening every day in our communities? Even if somebody goes
out for a one-time visit, it will change the way they practice health care.
" I think the important thing to learn is just being present and meeting
people where they're at. I've had people go out with me and say they
hadn't considered some of the need they saw, maybe just the simple
things - a person is dehydrated, they need water, or they haven't eaten
for three days and are scared to leave their tent because they don't want
to get robbed. A lot of times, the need is for something as simple as
kindness, so the humanism piece is such an important part of medical
education. We're not going to solve every health care problem known to
man, but it all starts with caring. "
" WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND UNTIL WE'VE REALLY LISTENED "
Both Henkind and Connelly say their experience organizing CU Street
Medicine and working with people experiencing homelessness and
housing insecurity has had a significant impact on the sort of health
care they want to practice.
The opportunities that CU Street Medicine is able
to help students access is important, Boyd-Trull
says, because students may have a desire to provide
care to people experiencing homelessness
or housing insecurity, but may not have a clear
picture of what that care can entail.
Joined by Sarah Nachtman, the CU Street Medicine team cares for the homeless and includes,
from second Kiera Connelly, Scott Harpin, PhD, Kathryn Boyd-Trull, MD, and Rebecca Henkind.

CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2021

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