Increasing student interest in family medicine and urban health care: the family care tract.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine has implemented the Family Care Track, which spans the first two years of medical school and allows for mentorship by family medicine faculty, while also providing students with the opportunity to learn via the formation of long-term relationships with patients.

Abstract

Throughout the last decade, general interest in primary care has drastically decreased. While medical students collectively show a high awareness for the significance of primary care during their first two years of medical school, this enthusiasm wanes for many as they complete their clinical years. As a result, fewer students enter into this concentration each year. In an attempt to mediate this changing interest, the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine has implemented the Family Care Track. This longitudinal experience spans the first two years of medical school and allows for mentorship by family medicine faculty, while also providing students with the opportunity to learn via the formation of long-term relationships with patients.