Opportunities & Resources

1. Refugee screening clinic: Volunteer in clinic as a first year and serve as a clinic leader in the second year. The latter role includes ordering screening labs, orienting new residents to refugee clinic, liaising with health coordinators from resettlement agencies and teaching medical students if interested. In the third year, consolidation of these roles to serve as the chief coordinating resident for the clinic.
2. Providing longitudinal refugee primary care: Serve as primary care provider for refugees after initial screening. As in the screening clinic, interpreter services are available either in-person, video or telephonic.
3. Student refugee navigator program: Providing clinical expertise and teaching for medical students leading the program.
4. Health literacy curriculum: Assist medical students and pediatric residents to design and deliver health education sessions for refugees.
5. Research: The adult clinic has developed a database of refugee health information within the electronic medical record. Residents have conducted various quality improvement projects and there is opportunity for many more.
6. Faculty and resident development: Assist faculty and senior residents with refugee expertise to incorporate training in refugee health for both faculty and resident physicians.

Medical/Nursing:

1. Student health navigator program: Serve as one of the volunteer leaders or participate as a navigator.
2. Health literacy curricula: Assist other students and residents in designing and delivering health literacy sessions for refugees
3. Health education material: Develop brief educational brochures, videos or animations for informational material for refugee patients
4. Data collection/research: Assist in ongoing quality improvement and research projects or develop and implement new projects under supervision

Public Health/Undergraduate:

1. Explore opportunities to build a base of volunteer interpreter services or identify interpreter agencies that offer services at reduced rates
2. Explore non-profit agencies offering funding support for clinical or research work related to refugee health
3. Prepare informational material about the clinic and other health services
4. Assist in data collection for research projects or design and implement new projects
5. Engage with other on-campus refugee related activities like YRP (Yale Refugee Project) and RAMP (Resource Access Mapping Project)
6. Engage in advocacy work and network with other on-campus groups like the Yale Law School
7. Volunteer with IRIS, the local refugee resettlement agency

Yale faculty host a yearly health conference for refugee providers in Connecticut. The event occurs along with other global health activities hosted by Office of Global usually in March of every year. The fourth refugee health conference was held in March 2019. The event was generously supported by the Yale Macmillan Center and co-sponsored by the YSM Department of Internal Medicine; YSM Department of Internal Medicine's Office of Global Health, and YSM Office of International Medical Student Education.

Click here for more details on the Yale Refugee Health Conference.

The Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers was formed in 2015 by a group of medical providers, nurses, social workers, researchers, coordinators and many other professionals. The mission of the society is to educate, coordinate, and provide a forum for communication by which members can become more informed about best practices in refugee healthcare. The society will host the 2020 North American Refugee Health Conference in June 4-6 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Click here for more information on the North American Refugee Conference

• Centers for Disease Control – Immigrant and Refugee Health
• Cultural Orientation Resource Center
• Office of Refugee Resettlement
• International Organization for Migration
• Minnesota Department of Health – Refugee Health
• Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center