Education

Education Opportunities

250 students and residents come to CUHCC annually to complete their continuity clinic, clinical rotations, or field placements. These students & residents come from the School of Dentistry, Medical School (Internal Medicine, Medicine-Pediatrics and Psychiatry), School of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, School of Public Health, and multiple other disciplines.

Over 15,000 hours of educational related activities are provided by faculty and staff. Students and residents serve in many roles, including providing education at community health fairs, completing quality improvement projects and providing clinical care. CUHCC employs a dozen part-time student employees – many who speak a second language – who gain experience in health care as they are assessing future career paths.

CUHCC is the primary site for Internal Medicine-Pediatric residents. All CUHCC services provide opportunities to students and residents.

An Innovator in Urban Primary Care Education

Students and residents

Students and residents get real world experience working with a diverse patient population who span 12 race and ethnicities, are predominately poor, and have complex medical and mental health conditions.
Students and residents work in a clinic that is one the frontline for healthcare reform and interprofessional care.
Learn how to provide care to those who face socio-economic barriers to health and can refer patients to pro-bono legal, advocacy and triage services on-site.
Learn how to provide care for patients who have limited English proficiency, often teaming with interpreters during visits or for follow-up care.
Train alongside teams of providers who represent social work, dentistry, psychiatry, medicine, pharmacy, public health, nursing, and psychology.
Participate in quality improvement projects, such as care coordination or patients who are on 20 or more medications.
Consult with an active patient advisory group to hear and understand the patient’s experiences.

Global is Local

From post-traumatic stress disorder to acute malnutrition, students at CUHCC gain real world experience with diverse population health issues.

Students engage with a global patient population and will be able to learn first hand about global health issues. CUHCC’S patient population comes from over 12 different racial and ethnic groups that span five continents. Of the 12,000 patients served in 2012, over 76% of CUHCC’s patients are ethnic or racial minorities and an estimated 33% have limited English proficiency. Of the patients who reported their income, 70% live at or below federal poverty guidelines. Read more on CUHCC's patient demographics.

Complexity of Care

Students trained at CUHCC care for patients with complex and co-morbid conditions that are impacted by culture and social situations due to poverty. CUHCC offers resources to address the socio-economic barriers stemming from poverty and tailors its services to meet the culturally specific needs of patients. Our goal: Better health for our patients and community.

Common medical, social and behavioral health issues faced by CUHCC patients:

Uncontrolled diabetes, depression, poverty, language barriers, homelessness, advanced tooth decay, sexually transmitted infections, smoking, malnutrition, bipolar, pregnant, victim of domestic violence, HIV, no legal status, obese, khat chewer, psychosis, tuberculosis, substance abuse, no dental access, post-traumatic stress disorder, cultural barriers, hypertension, cancer.