New "horizontal" curriculum in family medicine residency

Abstract

Problem addressed: Opportunities for residents in a family medicine program to experience continuity of care with a group of patients and to be immersed in the role of a family physician were thought by faculty to be insufficient.

Objectives of the program: To enhance residents' experience of continuity of care with a group of patients; to create a model for training that better simulates clinical practice; and to position core family medicine experiences as the central and continuing focus of the residency program.

Main components of the program: The new curriculum replaces block rotations in family medicine with "horizontal" experiences comprising 3 half-days of patient care and 1 half-day seminar each week for all residents through both years of the program. The remaining time in first year is spent on the major disciplines--medicine, pediatrics, emergency, and obstetrics--for which a horizontal family medicine-centred experience has also been introduced. The second-year curriculum is flexible and largely self-directed. Initial evaluations indicate improved continuity of care of family practice patients and broadened clinical exposure for residents. The program has been fully accredited by the College.

Conclusions: A horizontal curriculum in family medicine, designed to address perceived deficiencies in the traditional block rotational model of training, can be developed and implemented in an urban teaching hospital.