Pre-Doctoral Training in Primary Care

Summary: For students entering in 2012, this program will support training at a new regional medical school campus via curriculum development that prioritizes primary care for trainees and faculty. We will create curricula for new models of care using regional resources to train medical and DNP students to provide exemplary care in the context of underserved individuals. Faculty development elements will prepare regional physicians to precept in primary care settings. Need: Eleven of 13 counties in western Kentucky are either partially or fully medically underserved. Because physician workforce distribution is impacted by the location of student training, the University of Kentucky (UK) identified rural medical training as an institutional priority and is creating a new regional medical campus. This program will foster attitudes and competencies for care of the underserved for students at the regional campus. Objectives: 1. Create unique curricular elements to foster trainee interest in care for the underserved while at the Lexington academic medical center. 2. Train students at the Purchase Area Regional Site in primary care competencies and prepare for new models of care for the underserved by designing curriculum for a longitudinal clerkship and incorporating interprofessional education and community diagnosis activities. 3. Enhance student competencies and attitudes for care for underserved and rural populations with 4th year electives and by shepherding student and community interests to form community partnerships and improve healthcare for the underserved 4. Design and deliver community-based faculty (CBF) development that addresses the needs of practitioners to support the longitudinal curricular elements. Methodology: In this five year project, Family Medicine curricular experts will work with the Purchase Area Dean, regional community-based interdisciplinary faculty and other regional personnel and resources to develop an innovative curriculum and meet grant objectives. Funding will support personnel, travel and curriculum development materials. We will create an Advisory Council on Primary Care Training to advise the Dean, the PI and other personnel on program formation and provide to advocacy for activities and partnerships to best meet the needs of underserved individuals in the region.