The changing role of academic health care centers in generalist education and practice support

Academic medical centers have been more compatible with the training and support of specialist and subspecialist physicians than that of their generalist colleagues. To meet the increasing demand for well-prepared generalist physicians, academic centers must change the manner in which they discharge their traditional missions of patient care, education, and training. This will require alteration of their organizational structures, changes in the allocation of resources, and an evolution of the culture of academic medicine toward one that is supportive of generalist education and practice. This paper discusses 1) the present organizational, structural, and cultural elements of the academic health care center that are inadequate for that goal; 2) a model for reorganizing academic health care centers to best achieve that goal; and 3) educational programs and technologies that promise to address the continuing educational needs of generalists.