Throughout my clinical experience, I have taken care of a variety of patients, all from many different backgrounds. The care that I provide to my patients is all the same, no matter what. However, not all health care workers are the same. During clinical, I took care of a patient who is homeless who had suffered from cardiac arrest at a pop-up clinic and was then admitted to the hospital. This patient is a “frequent flyer” on the floor that I am on and not all of the staff necessarily liked this patient. When going in to care for this patient, I tried to think of the hardships that he must have gone through and the obstacles that could interfere with him reaching optimal health.

Homelessness is a health hazard in society and individuals in this population may be predisposed to worsening health outcomes and challenges to access healthcare. Demographically, homelessness can affect men, women, and children of all races and ethnicities. According to American Family Physician, there are more than 610,000 people who are homeless in the United States on any given night (2014). Their situations are anything but simple. Health problems among homeless individuals can result from various factors such as barriers to care, lack of access to adequate nutrition, lack of proper resources, lack of transportation, unemployment, lack of education, and limited services. Unemployment can go hand-in-hand with homelessness and can be associated with food insecurity, inability to pay for healthcare, and poor social capital. These individuals are unable to buy nutritious foods or pay for the healthcare that they need. This could decrease the probability of this population seeking healthcare. Due to the social determinants of health that homeless individuals may go through, they are prone to both mental and physical illnesses. Homeless people are prone to many chronic conditions including arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, vascular disease, pneumonia, STIs, and tuberculosis. Mental health disorders that homeless individuals are prone to include bipolar disorder, dementia, depression, personality disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenia.  The homeless population is also susceptible to substance abuse disorder and increased risk of injuries and violence. It is essential that health care providers keep the hardships that this population may go through in mind when caring for a homeless patient.

In my experience caring for a patient who was homeless, there were assumptions about him prior to me even meeting him. Health care workers would warn me before going into the room that he is frequently a patient and “doesn’t do anything to help himself”. I found this really difficult to hear, especially after meeting this patient. He was a great guy who was just in a tough place and was scared because he does not have the access to the resources he needs to take care of himself once he is discharged from the hospital. I am proud of how I handled this situation. Even though, I was told negative things about this patient prior to taking care of this patient, I did not let it affect how I cared for this patient. I think that the stigma behind the homeless population needs to be changed and the health care system needs to do something to help them. We, as a society, are failing the homeless population. Something needs to be done to help provide these individuals with adequate health care, regardless of the social determinants they may face.