TRAINING PHYSICIANS TO CARE FOR THE UNDERSERVED - PREVENTIVE MEDICINERESIDENCY COMMUNITY-HEALTH CENTER LINKAGES

The population of uninsured and underinsured individuals in the United States continues to grow, compounding problems of adequate access to medical care. Some of the medical needs of this population are met by community health centers (CHCs). However, CHCs often have difficulty r ecruiting and retaining physicians, especially those with skills in co mmunity medicine. This article describes a general preventive medicine residency program that has been successful in preparing physicians fo r practice in these settings-what we call training in community-orient ed preventive medicine (COPM). At the heart of COPM training are mutua lly beneficial relationships between CHCs and the residency program. T his process has been greatly facilitated through the use of Health Res ources and Services Administration (HRSA) federal training grant suppo rt to ''marsh'' funds provided hy CHCs. As of July 1994, 11 residents have entered the COPM track, with eight graduates and three current re sidents. Thus far, all graduates have remained involved in community-b ased medical care and preventive medicine activities for medically und erserved populations. This training arrangement can serve as a model f or other preventive medicine residency programs and fur CHCs intereste d in enhancing physician recruitment and retention.