UIC/Pilsen Food Pantry Health Equity Externship

Dates: Ideally four consecutive weeks beginning Monday, July 10, with flexibility to determine exact schedule with the preceptor.
Open to all Illinois students currently finishing their first year.
Primary Location: Pilsen Food Pantry - 2124 S. Ashland Avenue (Pantry website)

The UIC/Pilsen Food Pantry Health Equity summer externship is a community-centered family medicine experience. The extern will spend one day a week in the family medicine clinic shadowing UIC College of Medicine family physicians and the remainder of the week learning about the greater UIC community at the Pilsen Food Pantry, a program sponsored by the nonprofit organization of Illinois family physician Dr. Evelyn Figueroa. Activities at the Pilsen Food Pantry will include operations, client services (food, clothing, physical therapy, books, gardening), mentorship of high school interns, and self-directed learning. Working with Evelyn Figueroa, MD (the 2021 AAFP Humanitarian Award honoree) the student will experience the incredible role of family medicine in addressing socio-economic factors that impact a person's health and ability to improve health status. The selected extern will participate in a weekly huddle with the M3/M4 advocacy students and the resident on our UIC community medicine rotation.

Your experience will include:

• Health equity readings
• Advocacy training
• Service learning
• Reflection exercises
• Clinical shadowing (limited compared to other activities, but just to give the students more exposure to the scope and breadth of family medicine)
• Debriefing sessions