A collaborative approach to a primary care preclinical preceptorship for underserved settings

Abstract
This study describes the first few years of a collaborative effort undertaken by the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM), the Washington-Alaska-Montana-Idaho (WAMI) Area Health Education Center program, the Washington Academy of Family Practice, and the Family Health Foundation of Washington to provide students with an early introduction to primary care practice in rural and urban underserved settings. Starting in 1988, these collaborators organized a summer preceptorship that offered placements in the WAMI region to 23 student volunteers who were between their first and second years at the UWSM in 1989 and to 51 such students in 1990. A preliminary evaluation of the program indicated that the students (73 of whom participated in the evaluation) were extremely satisfied with the program's ability to provide them with firsthand exposure to community medicine. In conclusion, the authors discuss the advantages of collaboration and make suggestions for identifying potential educational partners.

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