STFM Develops Inaugural National Family Medicine Clerkship Curriculum

By Barbara Bein
10/23/2009

The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, or STFM, has developed the first national Family Medicine Clerkship Curriculum, which describes common conditions family physicians manage and that third-year medical students can master.

The objectives of the family medicine clerkship, which formerly was known as the C4 Project, are to

Stock photo showing three medical students

demonstrate the value of primary care as an integral part of any health care system;
teach an approach to the evaluation and initial management of acute presentations commonly seen in the office setting;
teach an approach to the management of chronic illnesses commonly seen in the office setting;
teach an approach to conducting a wellness visit for a patient of any age or gender;
model the principles of family medicine care; and
provide instruction in historical assessment, communication, physical examination and clinical reasoning skills.

According to Heidi Chumley, M.D., of Kansas City, Kan., senior associate dean for medical education at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and chair of the nine-member task force that developed the curriculum, ''There is enough structure (in the curriculum) that if clerkship directors will adopt the curriculum, we can ensure that all medical students learn critical knowledge and skills and help others understand some of the strengths of family medicine."

The curriculum, which was funded by the STFM Foundation, is divided into three main sections:

principles of family medicine, which cover such topics as the biopsychosocial model, comprehensive care and continuity of care and include a focus on patient-centered communication skills, psychosocial awareness and patient education;
clinical experiences, including common conditions, key messages, general learning objectives and specific learning objectives for acute presentations, chronic diseases, and well-adult and child prevention visits; and
the role of family medicine in health care, which stresses the value of primary care in the health care system, especially in improving outcomes, lowering costs and decreasing health disparities.

According to Chumley, before the national clerkship curriculum was developed, clerkship directors designed their own curricula in accordance with regional variations in prevalence of disease and other factors. The national clerkship curriculum focuses and describes what ideally should be the core in all the clerkships, she said.

The curriculum has been endorsed by the AAFP, the Council of Academic Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, and the North American Primary Care Research Group.

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