At the recent American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Students, I had the chance to discuss family medicine and the work of Duke Community and Family Medicine with student attendees. It became clear that the recent acceleration of population health as an approach to improve the health of communities is making its way to the lecture halls of medical schools.
The awareness of the importance of physicians widening their focus to encompass the context in which they practice is exciting, especially coming from an institution deeply concerned with this issue. Returning from conference makes me reflect upon my experience with continuity of care beyond the walls of the clinic.
As a resident, it is interesting to contrast the skill sets necessary for proficiency on the wards with those required to care for patients in their community. Managing the health of a community includes tenants of population health such as community engagement and partnering with teams to create networks invested in the care of a population.
It also requires, however, skills such as applied panel management, real time data management, the ability to engage in clinical transformation, and unique clinical approaches. The development of these skills allows me to imagine thriving in a workplace that values the ability to marry clinical savvy with larger, population-based interventions.
Similar to how we strive to create clinical approaches that are patient centered within our clinics and hospitals, the thread of remaining community-centered weaves together the varied approaches of providing care that reaches beyond the clinic. While we continue to work as a department toward defining and teaching the skill set needed to practice population health, it is evident that a focus on community centered care will be essential toward developing a flexible yet consistent approach to increase health, from the local community to the national level.
Joshua Lancaster is the chief resident with the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program. Email joshua.lancaster@dm.duke.edu with questions.
Editor’s note: Duke Family Medicine residents guest blog every month.