Title VII and the development and promotion of national initiatives in training primary care clinicians in the United States.

The Title VII, Section 747 (Title VII) legislation, which authorizes the Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry grant program, provides statutory authority to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award contracts and cooperative agreements aimed at enhancing the quality of primary care training in the United States.More than 35 contracts and cooperative agreements have been issued by HRSA with Title VII federal funds, most often to national organizations promoting the training of physician assistants and medical students and representing the primary care disciplines of family medicine, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics. These activities have influenced generalist medicine through three mechanisms: (1) building collaboration among the primary care disciplines and between primary care and specialty medicine, (2) strengthening primary care generally through national initiatives designed to develop and implement new models of primary care training, and (3) enhancing the quality of primary care training in specific disease areas determined to be of national importance.

An evaluation of immunization education resources by family medicine residency directors.

Background And Objectives: Immunization is a rapidly evolving field, and teachers of family medicine are responsible for ensuring that they and their students are knowledgeable about the latest vaccine recommendations.

Methods: A survey was mailed to 456 family medicine residency directors across the United States to obtain their evaluation of immunization resources developed by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine's Group on Immunization Education. Frequencies, measures of central tendency, and differences between responses from 2001 to 2005 were analyzed.

Family Medicine Curriculum Resource Project: the future.

Under contract to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) created an undergraduate medical education curricular resource designed to train physicians to practice in the 21st century. An interdisciplinary group of more than 35 educators worked for 4 years to create the Family Medicine Curriculum Resource (FMCR). By consensus, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies were adopted as the theoretical framework for this project.

Family medicine curriculum resource project: overview.

In 2000, the Health Resources and Services Administration, in the interest of fostering curriculum reform in medical schools, awarded a 4-year contract to the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine to develop a curricular resource. The contract directed development of a multi-part resource aimed at (1) preclerkship prerequisites for third-year clerkships in collaboration with internal medicine and pediatrics, (2) the family medicine clerkship, (3) post-clerkship preparation for residency training, and (4) specific special topic areas of importance to the government. The Family Medicine Curriculum Resource (FMCR) was produced by primary care educators, with day-to-day direction from an executive committee and overall oversight by an advisory committee.

Protecting participants in family medicine research: a consensus statement on improving research integrity and participants' safety in educational research, community-based participatory research, and practice network research.

Recent events that include the deaths of research subjects and the falsification of data have drawn greater scrutiny on assuring research data integrity and protecting participants. Several organizations have created guidelines to help guide researchers working in the area of clinical trials and ensure that their research is safe and valid. However, family medicine researchers often engage in research that differs from a typical clinical trial.

The Future of Family Medicine: a collaborative project of the family medicine community.

Background: Recognizing fundamental flaws in the fragmented US health care systems and the potential of an integrative, generalist approach, the leadership of 7 national family medicine organizations initiated the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) project in 2002. The goal of the project was to develop a strategy to transform and renew the discipline of family medicine to meet the needs of patients in a changing health care environment.

Methods: A national research study was conducted by independent research firms.

Immunization education among family practice residency programs.

Background And Objectives: The dynamic nature of immunization schedules, shortages, and administration techniques makes keeping up to date with current national recommendations difficult and necessitates periodic evaluation of immunization teaching resources.

Methods: This study surveyed family practice residency program directors in 1998 to assess their satisfaction with immunization teaching resources and interest in new resources. Subsequently, with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Group on Immunization Education developed a series of educational materials devoted to educating family physicians about immunizations.