MU Family Medicine Residency Chosen for P4 Initiative

The University of Missouri-Columbia Family Medicine Residency Program has been selected as one of only 14 residency programs in the country to participate in the “P4: Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice” initiative. The five-year project aims to inspire and evaluate innovations in family medicine training.

The initiative is coordinated by TransforMED, an affiliate of the American Academy of Family Physicians, in partnership with the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors and the American Board of Family Medicine.

Participants in the initiative will attempt new training techniques through a curriculum focused on futuristic delivery of patient care.

"Our hope with the P4 initiative is to find better ways to train family physicians," says Erika Ringdahl, MD, professor of clinical family and community medicine and residency director. "Training for family medicine residents has changed little in the last 30 years, but our practice environment has changed dramatically during that time, with the addition of electronic health records, more patient-centered care, more interdisciplinary team-based care, and more emphasis on the family physician working with patients to manage their chronic illnesses over time."

The MU family residency program’s involvement with the initiative will include the studies of both the content and length of residency training.

Traditional family medicine physician training models include four years of medical school followed by three years of residency. MU created an integrated residency program 15 years ago. This highly selective program allows MU medical students who are committed to family medicine to integrate residency activities into their fourth year of medical school.

"Many students find their fourth year of medical school less productive after completing class requirements and interviews for residency programs," Dr. Ringdahl says. "We want to examine if offering a fourth year of residency training that overlaps the senior year of medical school will offer additional benefits."

The MU model will significantly increase the amount of time first-year residents spend caring for patients in an outpatient medical office setting. Family medicine residents will focus on developing their practices earlier in their training, innovative use of electronic health records, and learning to continuously improve management of chronic illnesses.

"This will allow resident physicians to follow their patients with chronic illnesses over a longer period of time, which will enhance both the care of the patient and the training of our residents," Dr. Ringdahl says.

Findings from the initiative are expected to guide future training requirements, ensuring that America’s future family doctors are proficient in meeting the expectations of patients and improving the health of their communities.

February 2007