Background: In the United States, the Patient-centered Medical Home (PCMH) is an emerging concept in primary care that is guiding clinical reorganization to meet the needs of patients with chronic illness. We developed a one-semester curriculum to teach the principles and practice of PCMH to medical and physician assistant students during their clinical clerkship year.
Methods: The mini-course on PCMH consists of three 3-h weekend sessions over 16 weeks and a student project to develop constructive planning ideas for an assigned clinical site.
Problem: Physicians need training in community engagement, leadership, and population health to prepare them to work with partners within the community and to adapt medical care to address population health needs.
Approach: With an overall goal of training primary care practitioners to be change agents for improving population health, the Duke University School of Medicine launched the Primary Care Leadership Track (PCLT) in 2011. The four-year PCLT curriculum requires students to contribute to existing community health initiatives, perform community-engaged research, and participate in leadership training.
To help shape the future of health care in North Carolina, Duke University School of Medicine has implemented several new initiatives aimed at providing primary care providers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to improve population health and health care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 2012 Institute of Medicine report is the latest in the growing number of calls to incorporate a population health approach in health professionals' training. Over the last decade, Duke University, particularly its Department of Community and Family Medicine, has been heavily involved with community partners in Durham, North Carolina, to improve the local community's health. On the basis of these initiatives, a group of interprofessional faculty began tackling the need to fill the curriculum gap to train future health professionals in public health practice, community engagement, critical thinking, and team skills to improve population health effectively in Durham and elsewhere.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF