Finding Solutions: Providing Effective Ambulatory Care Training

NYU School of Medicine (NYUSoM) seeks to improve its medical school training curriculum to reflect the change in health care delivery from inpatient to outpatient care. As part of this effort, NYUSoM charged the Capstone team to improve the ambulatory (outpatient) clerkship experience for NYUSoM medical students and faculties. The team conducted a literature review of ambulatory care models and researched nationwide best practices, analyzed survey results of medical students, and developed a survey for various NYU affiliated physician groups. Physician surveys identified existing barriers to teaching and suggestions for physician teaching incentives, while interviews with physician faculty and practice directors specified recruitment challenges and financial impact of students in clinical settings The team's report offered recommendations to create an effective teaching environment for ambulatory clerkships, viable incentives to encourage physicians to teach medical students, and a system to manage teaching and recruiting for clerkship rotations.