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Office of Undergraduate Medical Education and Primary Care
Providing Generalist Physicians for the Future
The Need for Generalist Physicians
The challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system are partly the result of a lack of primary care physicians. Over the past three decades, too many physicians have chosen to specialize rather than practice medicine as generalists, creating an imbalance of supply and demand. Health policy experts now agree that at least half of all medical school graduates should enter generalist fields (general internal medicine, general pediatrics and family practice) to support our nation's efforts to devise a responsive, cost-effective and equitable healthcare system. Medical schools, in collaboration with state governments, private insurers, health maintenance organizations, hospitals and community centers, have accepted the challenge to expand the supply of generalist physicians.
A Commitment to Primary Care
New York Medical College-affiliated with 28 hospitals in inner-city, suburban and rural settings-anticipated the need for more generalist physicians and formally began to stimulate student interest in primary care practice, especially in medically underserved and culturally diverse areas. Since 1987, a number of programs have been introduced that ensure that students are exposed to the basic principles of primary care, which constitute a body of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are applicable to all students, regardless of specialty choice. These efforts have been rewarded with support by private philanthropies and government grants, most notably from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the New York State Department of Health, the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, the Lamar Family Fund, the Josiah Macy Foundation, the United Hospital Fund, and the Partnerships for Quality Education initiative.
To educate all students in the principles of primary care and to produce more primary care physicians, the College has developed programs and initiatives that span the continuum of medical education-from how students are selected, to what they are taught, to the location of their practice sites-while it enlists outside partners committed to advancing the College's primary care objectives.
Medical students are being exposed early and continuously to primary care training and mentors through all four years of their education. At the residency level, graduate medical education has been revised to ensure an increased exposure to ambulatory care in primary care settings. And through its Practice Enhancement Program, community-based physicians participate in efforts to increase their professional satisfaction.
Ralph A. O'Connell, M.D.
Provost and Dean, School of Medicine
"I am pleased and proud to present New York Medical College's organized effort to promote primary care training and service. Long before a focus on primary care became fashionable, the College embarked on an innovative and ambitious plan provide its students with a quality educational experience based firmly on the principles of generalist medicine.
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We are confident that our efforts to date have resulted in physicians who, regardless of specialty choice, are better prepared to meet the demands and challenges of medical care delivery in the twenty-first century.
The Office of Undergraduate Medical Education and Primary Care provides evidence of the College's ongoing commitment to this exciting and rapidly changing field of medicine. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, the Center promotes the identification, development and expansion of educational programs and research opportunities in primary care. These activities better serve the students, residents and affiliated community-based generalist physicians and ensure that New York Medical College continues to distinguish itself as a leader in primary care."
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Martha S. Grayson, M.D.,
Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education
New York Medical College
Valhalla, NY 10595
To request a copy of the brochure "Providing Generalist Physicians for the Future," please e-mail to: Patti Fusco
The Office of Undergraduate Medical Education and Primary Care
New York Medical College
Munger Pavilion, Suite 600
Valhalla, NY 10595
(914)594-4609
(914) 594-4838 fax