Family medicine
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Many medical schools have implemented primary care tracks to increase the number of medical students pursuing primary care. The Primary Care Program (PCP) at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California is a 4-year primary care pathway that trains medical students to work in urban, underserved communities and has shown high student match rates into primary care residencies. This study evaluates the PCP graduates in residency and after residency, and assesses their career outcomes, their career characteristics, and the impact their PCP experience had on their careers. ⋯ PCP alumni credit this program with impacting their retention in primary care and their career trajectories. This program can serve as a model for other institutions to help increase the number of medical students who pursue primary care careers.
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Case reports are a popular publication type, especially for medical learners. They also are an excellent educational vehicle that can spark a long-term interest in scholarship for medical learners. To maximize publication potential, authors need a framework when writing a case report. ⋯ Case reports can be categorized according to their main contribution to the medical literature. Nearly 60% of all published case reports in this study were not published for the purpose of introducing a novel clinical entity. Instead, they were used as a vehicle to educate clinicians about previously described phenomena. Authors seeking to publish case reports should understand how the framing of their report is likely to influence their chances of being published.
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Many past studies have focused on uncertainty in medical practice, yet it is still not well understood in the field of family medicine, especially among residents. The aim of this study was to examine situations in which residents experience uncertainty and the coping strategies they use to deal with it. The results may have implications for advanced training programs and the specialist training in family medicine. ⋯ Family medicine residents experience uncertainty as an important part of their daily work. They do not necessarily interpret it as a negative phenomenon. Instead, uncertain situations often accompany learning effectiveness and an increase of self-confidence.