By Rachana Senthil
Photo caption: John Maier, associate professor of family medicine, in Alan Magee Scaife Hall with the event’s keynote speaker, Andrew Bazemore, senior vice president for research and policy at the American Board of Family Medicine
For the first time, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (SOM) hosted National Primary Care Week, an annual event held in the first full week of October,which spotlights the importance of primary care. Through the collaboration of student interest groups in pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, med-peds and geriatric medicine, these events offered a multitude of opportunities for students to enlighten themselves about primary care.
“The goal in hosting these events is to shed light on the importance of primary care roles in the health care space,” says Emma Kotes, a second-year medical student who is currently a part of the new Pitt SOM Primary Care Accelerated Track in hopes of becoming a pediatrician who also cares for children with medical complexities.
Throughout the week, students engaged in panels, seminars and networking events that highlight the diverse contributions of primary care providers. These events explored the scope and value of primary care providers in community health, from vaccination advocacy to women’s health care. The week finished with a presentation by Andrew Bazemore, senior vice president of research and policy for the American Board of Family Medicine.
National Primary Care Week is crucial because it directly addresses the need for more medical students to choose careers in this field where they can serve diverse communities and solve common health issues, emphasizing the tremendous service and value this path provides. The data shows a significant gap: roughly 30% of SOM graduates match into primary care residencies, including internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine and med-peds (mostly in internal medicine).
Nationally, only about 10% of internal medicine residents ultimately pursue careers in primary care. Adjusting for this trend, the actual percentage of Pitt’s MD graduates who go on to practice primary care is closer to 12%, said John Maier, associate professor of family medicine, who helped students organize this event.
“Family medicine is about longitudinal relationships with a person and their family,” Maier said. “It’s a place where I will learn about all the problems that are prevalent and important to solve and serve a broad range of people.”
National Primary Care Week, by celebrating the community-centered impacts, highlights the value of this field as a place to learn about and serve the general population, encouraging students to choose this vital path.
One of the ways Pitt supports students looking to enter the field is the Primary Care Accelerated Track (PCAT). It was created in 2023 as a joint program between the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Medical Education to meet the growing need for primary care physicians across the country. Accepted students are able to finish medical school in three years and be eligible to enter one of UPMC’s primary care residency programs, if all requirements are met.