Impact of a Patient-Centered Medical Home Clerkship Curriculum

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) curriculum introduced in a family medicine clerkship in 2011-2012. This new curriculum introduced third-year students to the PCMH using a variety of interactive educational formats, including case-based, online, and experiential PCMH activities. METHODS: Qualitative analysis of student reflection essays explored themes based on PCMH experiences during family medicine clerkships. RESULTS: Pre-curricular needs assessment revealed an important gap in students' exposure to and knowledge of PCMH concepts consistent with existing literature. Qualitative thematic analysis examined students' perceptions of patient experiences in PCMH practices but also revealed rich, unprompted, and very positive perceptions of student and provider roles and system-based changes in the PCMH model. Only 2.3% of coded references (n=10, out of 435) described "negative" emotional reactions to PCMH experiences. More than half of student essays described important changes in self-assessed knowledge, skills, and attitudes, another significant and unexpected result. CONCLUSIONS: Successful implementation of innovative PCMH curricula is key to preparing a workforce ready to practice in a new model of health care delivery. This qualitative study demonstrates that an experiential PCMH curriculum can enhance third-year medical student self-assessed knowledge of and attitudes toward the PCMH and may improve perceptions of a career in primary care.