Southcentral Foundation’s Community Clerkship

Southcentral Foundation provides many opportunities for students to learn about SCF’s Nuka System of Care. One of these is the Community Clerkship Experience, offered to Harvard medical students who have completed 2.5 years of their medical school curriculum. Community Clerkship Experience participants learn alongside SCF’s employees, and see a fully customer-owned, relationship-based system of care in action.

The clerkship offers four weeks of on-site shadowing and learning about SCF’s community programs. Participants learn about over a dozen SCF programs, which can include but are not limited to:

• SCF’s Detox Program
• The Quyana Clubhouse (a day program for adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses)
• SCF’s Pain Management clinic
• Four Directions (an outpatient treatment program that offers integrated substance use and behavioral health services for individuals and families struggling with addiction)
• And more

Previous learners have described the experience as “transformative.” One previous participant wrote the following about his experience:

“Overall, this month has been humbling and transformative. The stories of those that I have met along the way have grasped my emotions and sense of shared humanity in ways I did not know I had the ability to feel. … The beauty and diversity of Alaska’s long cultural histories has made me want to re-engage with my own heritage. The deep sense of community and familial comfort that SCF has imparted on me has inspired my own relationship with those around me and in my community.”

For more information about SCF’s community programs, or learning opportunities, feel free to contact the SCF Learning Institute.