Family and Community Medicine Team Receives National Award
The University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine’s Primary Care Training Enhancement (PCTE) grant team was recently selected to receive the Outstanding Educational Program Award by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR). This award honors an innovative program, department, or academic institution for their involvement in advancing undergraduate or graduate medical education in prevention and public health which furthers students’ interest in the discipline.
Dr. Roberto Cardarelli, chief of Family and Community Medicine, will be accepting the award on behalf of his team at a conference in March.
“We are preparing future family medicine physicians to practice in an evolving health care system focused on value,” said Cardarelli. “They are learning the tools to do quality improvement and how to improve the wellness of targeted populations they serve while being cost-conscious.”
The PCTE program has been working within the department since 2016. The project exists to improve access to primary care providers who are prepared to practice in and lead transforming health care delivery. This project, funded by Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), allows trainees to learn about the integration of health disparities and social determinant factors through the clinic and population-based analyses. Trainees also learn to apply transformational methodologies that will drive improved clinical services accordingly.
“Future physicians are learning by working as a team with other disciplines such as behavioral health, care managers, community health workers and social work. We are breaking the medical model concept and incorporating the importance of social determinants of health when caring for our patients,” said Cardarelli.
The department aims to enhance the patient experience, improve population health, reduce costs and improve the lives of all health care providers. This project is in collaboration with the UK Colleges of Nursing and Social Work and trains medical students, family medicine residents, social work students, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and other health professions trainees, and will prepare faculty to teach these learners.
