Changing the medical school curriculum to improve patient access to primary care
J. E. Verby, J. P. Newell, S. A. Andresen and W. M. Swentko
Rural Physician Associate Program, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis 55455.
The problems of access to health care by the underinsured demand a
systematic response. One of the critical components of that response is
medical curriculum reform, with the intent to graduate adequate numbers of
physicians to do primary care, to work with the underinsured and the
uninsured, and to practice in rural areas. One state, Minnesota, has
developed a unique response to these needs, demonstrating problem solving
very much in keeping with many of the recommendations in the literature.
Highlighted in this article is the University of Minnesota's Rural
Physician Associate Program, a predoctoral curriculum innovation
functioning for 20 years to help resolve the issue of physician
maldistribution in the state. The Rural Physician Associate Program
provides students with many of the skills needed to provide primary care,
it is cost-effective, and it has brought a number of benefits to the
participating communities.
