Entice With Procedures, Inspire With Primary Care: A Preclerkship Pipeline Course.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Primary Care Physician Training
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• The United States faces a critical shortage of primary care clinicians, with medical schools struggling to meet demand.
• Stanford University School of Medicine aimed to enhance the appeal of primary care among its students.
• A gap exists in preclerkship education regarding primary care visibility and desirability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a preclerkship elective designed to increase medical and physician assistant students' interest in primary care.
• To assess the impact of the elective on learners' attitudes towards primary care careers.
• To provide a replicable framework for other institutions to promote primary care specialties.

Main Methods:

• A 9-week "Primary Care Defined: Perspectives and Procedures" elective was implemented.
• The course included procedural workshops and sessions with local primary care physicians.
• Pre- and post-course questionnaires evaluated changes in student interest and attitudes.

Main Results:

• Enrolled students showed significantly greater interest in primary care compared to non-enrolled students post-course.
• Enrollees reported more positive attitudes regarding compensation, scope of practice, and job fulfillment.
• Both groups agreed on the importance of patient-physician relationships and primary care's role in healthcare.

Conclusions:

• The elective successfully increased student interest and positive perceptions of primary care.
• Experiential learning and early faculty engagement can encourage students towards primary care careers.
• This elective model can be adopted by other institutions to address primary care workforce needs.