Mission Statement
WiSH will offer educational opportunities in addiction medicine, harm reduction, and treatment of people with substance use disorders for students at all levels of clinical training and health care professions. We will provide service learning opportunities that will train students to work with this often neglected population, allow students to contribute meaningfully to their community, and create space for reflection on the role of the medical profession in public health. We will operate alongside our clinic to integrate educational opportunities into the clinical space. Ultimately, we will do our part to ensure Weill Cornell medical students become compassionate caregivers for all patient populations.
Goal
The Weill Students for Harm reduction (WiSH) Project is a student-led initiative to improve student engagement with people with substance use disorders (SUDs). We have a two-pronged goal:
- Create a non-credit certificate elective that will educate students on issues faced by people with SUDs and provide service learning opportunities.
- Establish a student-run clinic for patients with SUDs that provides free harm-reduction services.
Operations
The student-run WiSH Clinic is open the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Patients will be referred to our clinic from Syringe Exchange Programs (SEPs) and other community partners. The clinic will be housed at Lower Manhattan Hospital. Each clinic night will be staffed by one to two physicians and two to four students. Initial services offered will include medical management, educational counseling, initiation buprenorphine, and naloxone distribution. The clinic will be overseen by a Physician Director and a five-member Executive Board.
