Prevention for the 21st century: Setting the context through undergraduatemedical education

The generation of medical students now being taught will be practicing into the middle of the next century. They will be expected to provide an expand ing array of clinical preventive services and be responsible for the health and well-being of entire populations and communities. Although prevention principles are being taught in many contexts, most medical schools do not h ave adequate curriculum-tracking systems that allow them to track the deliv ery of education and training in disease prevention and health promotion. The Bureau of Health Professions of the Health Resources and Services Admin istration (HRSA) and the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine hav e worked on several projects that have culminated in the development of a s et of core competencies in preventive medicine for undergraduate medical ed ucation. In 1997 they convened a task force of medical educators from a bro ad array of basic science and clinical disciplines representing major U.S. medical teaching societies.' The task force reviewed and updated the 1984 I nventory of Knowledge and Skills Relating to Disease Prevention and Health Promotion so that it would be relevant to faculty in diverse specialty area s and could be integrated throughout the medical curriculum. They then crea ted a list of competencies that are essential from the perspective of each discipline and all disciplines. The article gives the context for teaching preventive medicine, presents th e core competencies, and serves as the introduction to a supplement to Acad emic Medicine on teaching preventive medicine throughout the undergraduate medical curriculum.