Two Novel Urban Health Primary Care Residency Tracks That Focus On Community-Level Structural Vulnerabilities

Benjamin J. Oldfield, Bennett W. Clark, Monica C. Mix, Katherine C. Shaw, Janet R. Serwint, Sanjay V. Desai, Rachel M. Kruzan, Rosalyn W. Stewart, Sebastian Ruhs, Leonard S. Feldman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although residency programs are well situated for developing a physician workforce with knowl-edge, skills, and attitudes that incorporate the strengths and reflect the priorities of community organizations, few curricula explicitly do so. AIM: To develop urban health primary care tracks for internal medicine and combined internal medicine-pediatrics residents. SETTING: Academic hospital, community health center, and community-based organizations. PARTICIPANTS: Internal medicine and combined internal medicine-pediatrics residents. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The program integrates community-based experiences with a focus on stakehold-er engagement into its curriculum. A significant portion of the training (28 weeks out of 3 years for internal medicine and 34 weeks out of 4 years for medicine-pediatrics) oc-curs outside the hospital and continuity clinic to support residents’ understanding of structural vulnerabilities. PROGRAM EVALUATION: Sixteen internal medicine and 14 medicine-pediatrics residents have graduated from our programs. Fifty-six percent of internal medicine graduates and 79% of medicine-pediatrics graduates are seek-ing primary care careers, and eight overall (27%) have been placed in community organizations. Seven (23%) hold leadership positions. DISCUSSION: We implemented two novel residency tracks that successfully placed graduates in community-based primary care settings. Integrating primary care training with experiences in community organizations can create primary care leaders and may foster collective efficacy among medical centers and community organizations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2250-2255
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of general internal medicine
Volume33
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2018

Keywords

  • Community-based interventions
  • Postgraduate medical education
  • Primary care
  • Socioeconomic factors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Two Novel Urban Health Primary Care Residency Tracks That Focus On Community-Level Structural Vulnerabilities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this