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We provide opportunities for our residents to become leaders within our hospital and in our larger medical community. The Resident Community Engagement Committee (RCEC) meets regularly to create and enhance opportunities for residents to rotate in clinical settings outside of our hospital that are designed to meet the needs of underserved populations that are still part of our larger care network. Residents and faculty are now rotating at the Borland Free Clinic providing primary care and urgent care to uninsured patients who would otherwise lack access to care. Additional opportunities include involvement with Federally Qualified Health Centers such as the Virginia Garcia clinics and the Neighborhood Health Center.
Resident Quality Improvement (QI) project’s offer residents an opportunity to participate within our community and advocate for our patients to have improved access to resources that address the social determinants of health. One such QI project connected our patients with the Providence Community Resource Desk to address the social determinants of health to provide additional care to our patients.
We are a participating program within COMPADRE, the California Oregon Medical partnership to Address Disparities in Rural Education and Health. This consortium of medical schools and residency programs are working together to develop innovative and creative solutions to reduce health disparities in a wide range of geographic locations. As a partner in COMPADRE and as part of our community engagement, we train our students and residents to recognize disparities and treat underserved medical populations in our local and regional communities through rotations in a variety of health care settings.
Our residents are involved in advocacy work through the American College of Physicians (ACP) working both locally and nationally. Multiple residents and faculty participated in the inaugural Oregon ACP Advocacy Day in May of 2020 in Salem, Oregon. Other residents have participated in ACP Leadership Day in Washington, DC, a chance to meet with the decision makers and learn firsthand about healthcare advocacy. We encourage our residents to further this work including signing up for and participating in internships with ACP and other organizations doing this important work.
