Street Medicine at Pitt is a student-run interdisciplinary organization that strives to bring health care and social support to the rough-sleeping and unhoused community in Pittsburgh. A practicum with Street Medicine at Pitt centers relationship-based care through interprofessional teamwork and a lens of health equity. This practicum provides students an opportunity to engage in core activities, such as street rounds and the foot clinic, while allowing students to choose additional activities and deliverables that are tailored to their personal interests.
Examples of activities may include, but are not limited to:
- collaboration with local street outreach teams
- development of public health communication tools
- grant writing to secure programmatic funding
- community outreach with partnering organizations
- conducting an evaluation of an intervention implemented by Street Medicine at Pitt
- coordination among internal partners at Pitt (liaisons for individual schools, Pitt Food Recovery Heroes, etc.)
Students who are interested in this practicum must meet all requirements for their department, as well as any requirements for certificate programs that they are pursuing. For departmental requirements, please refer to the Practicum Learning Agreement form for your department. Additionally, please communicate with the contact for your certificate program to ensure all requirements are met. Some certificates, like the Health Equity certificate and the Evaluation of Public Health Programs certificate, include required courses that may complement this practicum opportunity. Students are encouraged to consider electives that may enhance their activities in this practicum. For example, if interested in grant writing, consider taking one of these courses prior to your practicum.
Any MPH student interested in a practicum through Street Medicine at Pitt may write their thesis or essay based on activities or deliverables from this practicum, as long as it meets both the school-wide and departmental-specific competencies they outline in their Integrated Learning Experience (ILE) Essay Thesis Agreement Form.
For MSW/MPH students, a successful practicum through Street Medicine at Pitt satisfies the BCHS 2053 requirement in the School of Public Health, in addition to one year of the field placement requirements through the School of Social Work. Please communicate with Amy DeGurian, Steven Albert, and Paul Markgraf to ensure that your practicum with Street Medicine at Pitt satisfies all requirements for the MSW/MPH program.
Interested students should reach out to Street Medicine at Pitt to discuss a practicum experience that is tailored to their goals and aligns with practicum requirements.