A study of factors influencing medical students to choose primary care careers, in contrast with high-technology careers, found students attracted by opportunity to provide direct care, ambulatory care, continuity of care, and involvement in psychosocial aspects of care. Age, race, gender, marital status, and some attitudes were not influential.…

A system of data recording and retrieval which defines a family practice population of patients is described. The costs of this recording process in nonteaching practices, the use of such data as an educational resource for the training of primary care physicians, and the evaluations of health care delivered are discussed. (Editor/JT)

The President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation points up the lack of a dependable system of ambulatory front-line medical care in the U.S., outlines basic capabilities of the system needed, and suggests the role of foundations and academic centers in developing training programs recast in light of real world situations. (JT)

Holism in health care, and specifically in pharmacy, are discussed, along with the views of patients and professionals concerning expanded pharmacists' roles, and the effects of those roles. In describing holism in health care, attention is directed to holism and several concepts: wellness versus the absence of disease; prevention; mind, body, and…

This study is an attempt to model the similarities of 84 medical schools with respect to their orientations toward applicants qualified for research and applicants interested in delivering primary care or locating in non-urban settings. These characteristics are defined in 17 institutional variables. The patterns of insti(utional similarity are…

The current shortage of primary care physicians demands that medical schools implement ameliorative procedures. Two general approaches were evaluated. It was concluded that only the one advocating medical curriculum manipulation offers a viable direction and that focusing on selecting applicants with certain biographical characteristics has…

Described is a program leading to the B.S. and M.D. degrees in six or seven years that integrates the physical sciences with the basic medical sciences and emphasizes the humanities and social sciences as a necessary component of the physician's education. The selection process aims to identify future primary care physicians in underserved urban…

The control of clinical practice and the disposition of income from this practice have complicated the governance of medical schools for many years. The problem has been magnified recently by a decrease in income from other sources, reduction in the number of service patients, expansion of private services, and federal legislation. Implications…

In 1974 an ambulatory practice was developed for the house staff in the Department of Medicine at Baltimore City Hospital and integrated into the traditional residency program, which is based upon block rotations in inpatient services, emergency service, and subspeciality electives. The goals and strategies of this program are described. (LB H)

The success of a program at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles to provide pediatric training for family practice residents is reported. Its five-year evolution has resulted in increased capability of family practice physicians to deal with health care for children. (LBH)

Similarities and differences between primary care and specialized care are reviewed, based on research in health care. Professional requirements for primary and specialized care are identified, and implications for the scope and type of learning situations needed by undergraduate medical students are suggested. (Author/LBH)

A short, intensive teacher training course for general practitioners is described, including its aims, context and content, and assessment of its effectiveness. Focus is on the need for training doctors with expertise in teaching, combined with an ability to assess patients' psychosocial as well as physical problems. (LBH)

The audit of medical care in primary care practices has proven to be a valuable tool for teaching the essentials of efficient health care delivery to medical students at the University of Vermont. Practice standards and methods are continually revised based on the audit of the providers of care and the curriculum is updated based on student…

The use of survey results as an aid in making decisions about curriculum development is described. Compared are responses from a group of graduating medical students with the responses from a group of community physicians regarding agreement of opinion concerning primary care practice. (Author/LBH)

A two-week elective to introduce medical students to primary care internal medicine was developed and evaluated. Course time is divided between conference sessions and office experience. Evaluations by students consisted of a questionnaire of conference topics, the student's ability to carry out course objectives, and the preceptor's teaching…