TY - JOUR
T1 - Preventive practicum training in healthcare organizations
T2 - The Meharry model
AU - Levine, Robert S.
AU - St. Onge, Judith
AU - Moriarty, Cynthia J.
AU - Bailey, Stephanie
AU - Logan, Thomas
AU - Zhu, Kangmin
AU - Nelson, Bettie K.
AU - Hodder, Richard A.
AU - Marino, William
PY - 1999/7
Y1 - 1999/7
N2 - Background: Practicum training for preventive medicine residents often occurs in agencies whose community is geographically defined and whose governance is closely linked to public election. We were unsure about the financial ability of such departments to support training and are concerned that over-reliance on traditional health departments might not be best for either medically indigent populations or preventive medicine. We, therefore, sought to apply a public health model-based on a strategic partnership between nursing and preventive medicine-to a large health care organization. The result was formation of a mini-health department, suitable for fully accredited preventive medicine practicum training, within the Alvin C. York Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Murfreesboro, TN.This Center serves a defined population of 21,594 patients and about 1600 employees. The theoretical framework for the new department was based on demonstration of a close fit between the competencies expected of preventive medicine physicians by the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and activities required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Because of JCAHO requirements, many healthcare organizations already pay for preventive medicine services. Conclusions: By placing preventive medicine training faculty into existing budget slots at our institution, systemwide personnel costs for prevention decreased by about $36,000 per year, even as personnel funding for preventive medicine physicians increased from about $24,000 to $376,000 per year. Moreover, there was dramatic, sustained improvement in 17 indicators of preventive care quality as determined by an external peer review organization. In addition to providing a new venue for training, this model may also improve the quality and reach of preventive services, decreased fixed costs for service delivery, and yield new employment opportunities for preventive medicine physicians. Copyright (C) 1999 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
AB - Background: Practicum training for preventive medicine residents often occurs in agencies whose community is geographically defined and whose governance is closely linked to public election. We were unsure about the financial ability of such departments to support training and are concerned that over-reliance on traditional health departments might not be best for either medically indigent populations or preventive medicine. We, therefore, sought to apply a public health model-based on a strategic partnership between nursing and preventive medicine-to a large health care organization. The result was formation of a mini-health department, suitable for fully accredited preventive medicine practicum training, within the Alvin C. York Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Murfreesboro, TN.This Center serves a defined population of 21,594 patients and about 1600 employees. The theoretical framework for the new department was based on demonstration of a close fit between the competencies expected of preventive medicine physicians by the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and activities required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Because of JCAHO requirements, many healthcare organizations already pay for preventive medicine services. Conclusions: By placing preventive medicine training faculty into existing budget slots at our institution, systemwide personnel costs for prevention decreased by about $36,000 per year, even as personnel funding for preventive medicine physicians increased from about $24,000 to $376,000 per year. Moreover, there was dramatic, sustained improvement in 17 indicators of preventive care quality as determined by an external peer review organization. In addition to providing a new venue for training, this model may also improve the quality and reach of preventive services, decreased fixed costs for service delivery, and yield new employment opportunities for preventive medicine physicians. Copyright (C) 1999 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032798909&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0749-3797(99)00042-2
DO - 10.1016/S0749-3797(99)00042-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 10429759
AN - SCOPUS:0032798909
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 17
SP - 91
EP - 96
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
IS - 1
ER -