The Interdisciplinary Generalist Curriculum Project at the University of Colorado School of Medicine

The University of Colorado School of Medicine first considered a longitudinal primary care preceptorship in 1992, when the dean formed the dean's Ad Hoc Committee to launch the "generalist initiative," to include a three-year required longitudinal generalist preceptorship. Being awarded an Interdisciplinary Generalist Curriculum (IGC) Project contract provided the dean's Ad Hoc Committee with the momentum it needed to enact the curriculum. This article describes the IGC Project at the University of Colorado as it was originally proposed and the intended and unintended outcomes over time. Intended outcomes included establishing early continuous clinical experiences as a vital part of the curriculum and increased exposure to primary care, while examples of unintended outcomes were the development of a longitudinal skill and behavior evaluation process and the integration of problem-based learning in the curriculum. The article concludes with a description of what is ahead for the curriculum.