Curriculum for novice providers and trainees working in homeless shelters for women

Women of Means is a non-profit team of 25 volunteer doctors and nurses who deliver completely free medical care within homeless shelters for women and connect the women to the increasingly broken mainstream medical care system. These women are either without insurance, have an assigned primary care provider that they haven't yet met, or have a primary care provider that they “can't reach” or “don't like”. Through direct outreach, cultivated trust-building and our constant and familiar presence, Women of Means clinicians are able to offer immediate help for critical clinical conditions and leverage our relationships so that we can act as a voice for the women and facilitate improved access. As a result of working so closely with the women across the access spectrum, the organization has learned first-hand the common conditions and circumstances that the women face, and has developed strategies and management techniques that involve knowledge of context, vigilant communications, follow-up care and collaboration with all primary care practices and clinics where the women are seen. Our physician leadership hosts an elective throughout the year for over 100 medical and nursing students and medical trainees from the Boston area. Putting our experiences together, we have developed a useful curriculum for educating novice providers of care to homeless women which takes into account the realities of homelessness, entitlements and common clinical conditions and offers substantive tools for the care and management of these women as they navigate our complex healthcare system.