The Primary Care Track

[DoctorSax]

Hello all,

Hope that the interview trail is treating everyone well! Getting a bit sick of it myself, but hey, I guess I want a job I'm happy at...

So here's the vignette. I have applied exclusively to categorical IM programs. But at a recent interview, I became very interested in the primary care track curriculum--it included training in womens' health, adolescent medicine, behavioral medicine, and office procedures. Being the sort that has not picked his life path yet and can honestly see himself not specializing--being very happy doing general medicine--I was struck by how awesome that particular track was.

Can anyone offer advice as to what I should be looking for if I am to click the primary care box? I know the basic differences (more ambulatory time, usually an additional clinic, etc.), but for those who are also looking at primary care tracks, what do you use to evaluate and compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of a particular program's curriculum?

And any specific comments with regards to the primary care tracks at the following would be appreciated:

University Illinois Chicago
Emory
U. Penn
Brown
OHSU
U. Maryland

Thanks in advance!

DS

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[jadedbearsprite]

In general, the details I have been looking at are:
How different is the primary care program different than the categorical: how much time is spent in ambulatory rotations, mainly?

How will the program train me to do outpatient medicine?

What is the goal of the primary care program? Example: Columbia wants to train general internists who focus on primary care research.

Any unique opportunities such as experience in telephone medicine?

What do the graduates do? Private practice, hospitalist, fellowships (what kind of fellowships? often more outpatient based like endocrine or rheum, or general such as ID).

How well is the program supported and respected by the institution?

On the above list, I am familiar with only the PC programs at OHSU and UPenn.

OHSU does not have a separate match number for their primary care track meaning that you do not have to decide if you are leaning towards "primary care" prior to the match. They ask you that question at the start of internship. Their PC program does not differ too much from the categorical track in that the intern year is the same (as most if not all primary care tracks are). In the PGY2 and 3 years, if you are interested in primary care, you can do an extra 1 month of ambulatory/primary care and are not required to do the Kaiser rotation like the categoricals. Also, in your electives, you can choose a more primary care/outpatient elective. That was the picture I got. So bottom line is that at OHSU, for primary care, you can get a few extra months of primary care time.

UPenn does have a separate match number for their program. Again, the intern year is the same as the categoricals. However, starting in internship, the primary care residents have a separate continuity clinic at the UPenn primary care clinic with primary care program faculty. They also have during internship to add another half day of clinic at a community site in a specialty or focus area of their choosing, such as a women's health clinic or geriatrics, or occupational medicine. Or they can take that time to work on an academic ambulatory project. By the PGY2 year, these residents spend 6 months in ambulatory rotations and have 2 continuity clinic. During those ambulatory rotations, they can rotate through various outpatient subspecialty clinics, like derm, orthopedics, ENT, etc.

 

[DoctorSax]

Much appreciated--

Very helpful post--thanks for your time!

Anyone else have some insight?

DS

 

[DoctorSax]

bump