Fostering Interest in Family Medicine by Integrating Early Learners into a Data-Driven Patient Care Program
Author(s): Karen Weyman, Ryan Banach, Azi Moaveni, Reza Talebi, Vyshnave Jeyabalan, Anna Loi, Melissa Nutik
Description:
In response to decreasing interest of medical students in choosing family medicine as a career path, addressing the impact of the pandemic on clinical care, and the current health human resources crisis in Family Medicine, DFCM Undergraduate Education and the OHSP created a new pilot program to provide medical learners with a community-based longitudinal enrichment opportunity. In the first iteration of this pilot program, 1st and 2nd year medical students were placed with a family physician working in an underserved community during their summer break following a one-week family medicine immersion week. Students were taught how to search EMR data and generate a list of patients who were missing important preventative health, such as immunizations, cervical cancer screening, or chronic diabetes management, which were Ontario Health priorities. In addition, learners had opportunities to learn the procedural skills required through simulations in a non-clinical setting. The students then actively assisted the community physicians with catch-up in one of the physician-selected preventative health interventions over a minimum of 3 days in the clinic. By immersing students in hands-on clinical experiences in underserved communities, the program aspired to reshape perceptions about family medicine and instill a sense of agency in medical students.
To better understand the program feasibility and experiences of the students and preceptors who participated in this novel program, a formal program evaluation of both students and preceptors through survey completion, student focus groups and preceptor interviews took place. The successes, opportunities for learning and future direction will be shared.