COLLABORATION IN THE PREPARATION OF THE GENERALIST PHYSICIAN

Collaborative efforts among health care professionals and institutions at all levels will be essential to the increased production of genera list physicians. There have been many successful collaborations in edu cation and patient care among certifying boards, faculty, physicians i n practice, specialists, generalists, and non-physician health profess ionals, as well as among the three generalist specialties. Recommended strategies to encourage collaboration in the preparation of generalis t physicians include: creation of an institutional collaborative curri culum committee; design of a longitudinal curriculum on collaboration for physicians-in-training and other health professionals; implementat ion of collaborative patient care in ambulatory care teaching clinics; development of integrated systems of care that link inpatient, outpat ient, and community-based health services; and education of physicians -in-training in these and other collaborative and co-practice models o f patient care.