January 30, 2010: STFM Conference & SSRFC Meeting, Jacksonville, FL, USA

IMAGINE: An Interprofessional student-run clinic for the homeless in downtown Toronto
Presenters: Sagar Dugani, Ryan McGuire
Presentaion: Not available.
Abstract:
IMAGINE (Interprofessional Medical and Allied Groups for Improving Neighborhood Environments) is the first interprofessional medical school-initiated, student-run health clinic in the province of Ontario. IMAGINE aims to foster holistic care between students in healthcare professions and underserved communities in downtown Toronto, with a focus on the homeless. IMAGINE involves students and preceptors from nine professions including Dentistry, Health Administration, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, and Social Work with unique student governance, approach to sustainability, operations and informatics.

IMAGINE serves as a model of service learning, through its liaison with two community organizations (Central Toronto Community Health Center-Queen West and St. Christopher House-The Meeting Place). Through IMAGINE Clinic (first dimension of IMAGINE), patients will have access to assessment, treatment, harm reduction initiatives, and social services. IMAGINE Health Education (second dimension of IMAGINE) involves health promotion and includes presentations on disease prevention, personal hygiene, health screening, chronic disease management, and immunization.

The program will run on Saturdays from 11am to 3pm at The Meeting Place (IMAGINE Health Education) and at Queen West Health Centre (IMAGINE Clinic). At Health Education workshops, an interprofessional team of students will present and discuss topics related to weather (ex: hypothermia, warm clothing), nutrition, alcoholism and, substance use focusing on harm reduction strategies. The Clinic will have two interprofessional teams of students supervised by preceptors from each profession. When a patient arrives at the clinic, two students will conduct a history and physical assessment, and present the case to the rest of the team (i.e., students and preceptors). The team will collectively determine on a) a treatment plan, b) follow up and monitoring, and c) the types of services the client will require. At the end of the clinic, the preceptors will hold a debriefing for all the students.

Through this program, we expect that marginalized clients will be able to form a trusting relationship with healthcare providers and access healthcare in an open, supportive, and non-judgmental environment. Through increased access, clients will learn to take charge of their health needs and concerns. We also expect that students will begin to understand determinants of health and the challenges faced by vulnerable populations. Such community-based experiences will complement curricular courses and help students understand the populations they will one day serve, protect, and advocate for. As IMAGINE is using an interprofessional model of healthcare delivery, students will learn about the expertise each profession offers to effectively address health needs, using a patient-centered approach.

Through these combined efforts, IMAGINE will serve as a “gateway to health” and the health care system. Further, students will learn about barriers to, and inequities in access to health care, and they will enhance their understanding of advocacy, social accountability and civic engagement, tenets that guide their professional development. Students will work collaboratively, trusting and respecting other healthcare professionals, and understanding their roles, responsibilities and limitations. The skills, knowledge and confidence gained through debriefings and in working with preceptors will enable students to improve the quality of their professional education and enhance the patient experience. Nested at the University of Toronto, IMAGINE complements university organized education sessions with authentic, immersive, and situated interprofessional opportunities. This presentation will showcase the design, development and implementation of the clinic.