Designing a curriculum for training community-responsive physicians

There is a need for physicians who will promote health for all, especially for the out-of-hospital patient and the medically underserved. Community-based medical education is central to the training of these physicians. Ad hoc programs have improved student awareness of community-oriented primary care (COPC) during the past two decades. These programs have included student-initiated clinics in medically underserved communities. Future goals to advance COPC should include recruitment of motivated students, longitudinal community-based training programs, research opportunities in COPC, and the development of a cadre of COPC role models.