Implementation of the Future of Family Medicine recommendations rests, in large part, on transformations in the specialty's training programs. That was the word from six panelists who discussed the FFM project's implications for training future FPs. The panel spoke to almost 700 participants at the Residency Assistance Program Workshop for Faculty and Staff of Family Practice Residencies March 30 in Kansas City, Mo.
"The people who are most important to the success of the Future of Family Medicine are those for whom you have the most responsibility," said panelist Kenneth Evans, M.D., of Stillwater, Okla., past president of the AAFP Foundation and past Board chair of the AAFP.
Evans focused on the new practice model in the FFM project report. "You, as educators, must learn what this new practice model is," he said. "It's your responsibility to make sure everyone who comes out of your programs has skills to work within the model into which we hope and believe this specialty will evolve."
Project recommendations
Panel members noted FFM recommendations include:
The implication: Medical school curricula and residency training programs must evolve to meet those expectations.
Academic environment
Moreover, panel members called for a teaching environment for medical students that refutes the negative comments about family medicine they are exposed to, said Denise Rodgers, M.D., of New Brunswick, N.J., a past president of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.Often, panelists said, the comments question the academic and clinical rigor of the specialty. "We ought to make sure that students doing family medicine rotations understand how family physicians are expert in managing complexity," said Rodgers. "Our rotations should be one of the most rigorous rotations."
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