“The reason I chose a career in medicine was my passion for reaching underserved communities; and in this, primary care serves the greatest need. However, before committing to a field and residency, I wanted to see what it was actually like to practice in this capacity. I cannot express how important the experience of working full-time in a family practice was for me. The preceptorship experience was an amazing opportunity and I am now certain beyond any doubt that this is what I want most out of my career in medicine. This is where I belong,” said recent preceptorship stipend recipient Christen Cuevas from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Preceptorships match first- and second-year medical students with practicing family physicians in urban and rural settings for a period of four to six weeks during the summer months. Students gain intensive exposure to family medicine, often living with the physician and attending community meetings as well as hospital rounds. This program provides medical schools with grant stipends for their participating students. Family physicians from urban and rural practice communities volunteer to mentor these students.
A major source of our funding for this program comes from Ohio Department of Health Student/Resident Experiences and Rotations in Community Health (SEARCH) program. The OAFP/F program conforms to all of the requirements for Ohio’s SEARCH program, including providing the medical student with a clinical experience in a health professional shortage area and student’s completion of a community project. These projects include health promotion and disease prevention activities such as giving short presentations in schools, senior centers and churches; and participation in health fairs and activities such as community assessments, surveys, health literacy and health disparities projects.
Since 1990, nearly 800 medical students’ preceptorship experiences with family physician preceptors have been funded through the SEARCH-Enhanced Leroy A. Rodgers, M.D., Preceptorship Program. Program outcomes show one-third of all participants choose the family medicine specialty, and three-quarters of participants overall enter primary care career specialties.
The SEARCH-Enhanced Leroy A. Rodgers, M.D., Preceptorship Program is funded by donations from individuals, corporate members, Ohio Academy of Family Physicians regional chapters and grants from American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP Foundation), AAFP Foundation Family Medicine Philanthropic Consortium and Ohio Department of Health SEARCH Program.
