Neurologic education for primary care. Relevance of secondary diagnosis

Most of the clinical instruction in the medical specialties, for medical students as well as residents in the primary care specialties, occurs in the hospital environment. To improve the relevance of the teaching experience in this milieu, a study is presented in which the faculty conducts the teaching exercises on the primary care service. Emphasis is given to those disorders that constitute the secondary diagnosis, rather than the disorder that is responsible for hospitalization in most cases. It is suggested that this approach is appropriate for primary care, due to the case mix encountered and the exposure of trainees to the specialist faculty within a primary care environment.