Clinical Care for Immigrants and Refugees

You will work in a continuity clinical site for one session per week (half day) at the Metta Center, an FQHC fully integrates both Western and Eastern care to serve the needs of the refugee and immigrant population of Lowell, Massachusetts. The Metta Health Center was founded in 2000 to respond to the specific healthcare needs of the large Southeast Asian (Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese) refugee population who had arrived in the Greater Lowell area in the 1980s and 1990s.

Additional rotations will include:

    • Occupational Health Rotation: You will work in an Occupational Health practice to learn to develop a framework for assessing common occupational-related injuries and participate in disability evaluations and worksite and hazardous exposure evaluations.
    • Refugee Health Assessment Program Rotation: The Refugee Health Assessment Program rotation that will allow trainees to participate in medical evaluations of newly-arrived refugees and asylee. These visits are supported by Massachusetts Department of Health within the first 30-90 days after arrival, and focus on identifying conditions of public health importance and connecting patients with long-term medical care options.  You will participate in the health assessments supported by the multidisciplinary team.
    • Civil Surgeon Rotation: You will participate in the preparation and evaluation of individuals who are applying for an adjustment of immigration status, in partnership with a clinicians designated by USCIS as a Civil Surgeon. In this rotation, you will participate in the clinical review and documentation preparation for individuals in preparation for their Civil Surgeon appointment.
    • Forensic Medical Examination Training: You will participate in forensic medical evaluations, which are a potent tool for using medical skills and knowledge to promote human rights and safety for asylum applicants, and can be used in public health emergency settings. A forensic medical evaluation is an evaluation done by a trained clinician for the purposes of documenting physical consequences of harm or torture that an asylum seeker reports.