Primary care education trends in U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals

In 1973 Schroeder and colleagues conducted a survey of U.S. Medical schools in order to ascertain the nature of change in primary care education which had occurred by that date. In 1976 the authors of the present paper utilized the same survey instrument to document trend data over the three-year period. While conclusions from the 1973 survey pictured primary care education in a transitional state, the 1976 data suggest movement toward a general consolidation of efforts. The 1976 data indicate a continued emphasis on education in the ambulatory care area with no well-defined locus for coordinating institutionwide primary care training efforts, a leveling off of interest in health maintenance organizations (HMO) affiliations, no significant change in the number of affiliated programs for training nurse practitioners or physician's assistants, and a marked increase in the number of schools with affiliated generalist residency programs in internal medicine and pediatrics.