Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
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To evaluate the impact of the reorganization of an academic Veterans Affairs medical center toward primary and ambulatory care--including the implementation of a medical-center-wide interdisciplinary firm system and ambulatory care training program--on the quality of primary ambulatory care. ⋯ The institutional reorganization toward primary and ambulatory care succeeded in substantially improving the quality of ambulatory care, reflecting improvements in the system of care and of health care provider training in ambulatory care.
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Some call it "medical bigotry," and others describe it as the "hidden curriculum," but, by any name, the superficial and demeaning comments that students hear about particular career choices are thought to play a major role in discouraging the selection of primary care careers. This paper explores the frequency and effect of "badmouthing" on career choice with the hypothesis that it is more frequently heard about primary care disciplines but has relatively little influence on actual career choice. ⋯ Primary care fields and non-primary care fields were equally affected by career changes due to badmouthing. This study indicates that badmouthing, while pervasive across all disciplines and an unattractive aspect of the educational experience, cannot alone account for the low proportion of graduates choosing primary care careers.
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To describe the career characteristics of the graduates of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Duke University School of Medicine. ⋯ This study reinforces and extends previous conclusions concerning the success of federally funded MSTPs in producing physician scientists who compete favorably for NIH funding.
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Better education, recruitment, and retention of rural doctors are priorities in Canada and Australia. All medical schools in both countries offer some training in rural areas. In Canada, postgraduate training is provided by university medical schools, which have produced a variety of rural educational initiatives in response to regional needs and resources. ⋯ In both countries, a wide variety of continuing medical education (CME) courses are being developed for rural doctors, and funding resources and local programs are offered to make it easier for rural doctors to attend CME courses. Both countries continue to struggle to ensure high-quality, accessible medical care for rural populations. Although the two countries differ both in their health and in medical education systems, Canada and Australia are similar geographically and in their population distributions, and can benefit from and build on each other's experiences and advances.