A career goal for many practicing internists is to establish long-term relationships with patients in the ambulatory care setting.  The Primary Care Pathway has been designed for residents who wish to prepare for the practice of ambulatory medicine and offers a concentrated exposure to ambulatory experiences over the three years of training.  The pathway is a flexible program that provides not only clinical experiences and education tailored to the care of ambulatory patients, but also supports residents by pairing them with a mentor who shares similar interests and career goals.  Serving as primary care physicians for their own panel of patients, residents in this pathway practice with selected faculty to improve and measure outcomes of care.

 The Primary Care Pathway rotations are designed to help residents develop:

• skills needed to make office visits rewarding for both the patient and the physician
• expertise in managing conditions common to the outpatient setting as well as in office procedures
• an understanding of the challenges of running an outpatient practice
• skills in teaching and research in ambulatory medicine

Residents choosing this pathway will participate in a 3-year longitudinal office-based practice rotation within the academic setting as well as in community-based private practice experience designed to address issues such as lifestyle, economics, and office management.   The Primary Care Pathway also allows the resident to pursue special interests through rotations such as sports medicine, ophthalmology, dermatology, social and community medicine, and alternative/complementary medicine.