Family Medicine & Community Health Elective Course Description

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Elective Description: Inmates present with acute illnesses, have higher prevalence of Hepatitis C and HIV and are more likely to have chronic illnesses than in the general population. You will have an opportunity to delivery primary care to this unique population. The competencies for care behind bars are significantly different, requiring excellent communication and negotiation skills, strong skills in public health and a desire to serve a population that has been disenfranchised in society.

By the end of this elective, participants will 1) Gain sill in assessing and treating inmates with common conditions of higher prevalence in correctional settings; 2) Understand population and public health concerns within correctional health settings; and 3) Become familiar with and increase comfort while working in correctional health settings, with particular attention to competencies unique to this setting

METHOD: Students participating in this elective experience will work in one site full time and under the supervision of a faculty member from UMass Correctional Health. The schedule will be 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. In addition to direct care provision, students will be responsible for attending utilization management rounds each Tuesday, as well as the monthly didactic conference which includes Morbidity and Mortality Conference. Students will be responsible for writing up a five page reflective paper on a patient encounter that was a particularly powerful experience.