Home care in the urban setting--a challenge to medical education

The rapid growth in the use of the home as the site of care delivery necessitates that the home setting be incorporated as a teaching site into the curriculum of medical schools. Urban medical schools have a unique advantage in that they have a large population base readily available to students and preceptors as well as an array of allied health providers. Urban institutions can be in the forefront of developing programs that simultaneously promote: clinically competent care; the maximal function of large numbers of acutely and chronically ill persons; research into issues of cost-effectiveness; and, most importantly, professional humanism. Specific educational objectives are included.