Community Medicine Fellowship

• The Community Medicine Fellowship is a 12-month clinical fellowship. The fellowship year runs July through June.
• The fellowship is offered in conjunction with a community health center in Southeast Michigan and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan. 
• It is designed to promote excellence in community medicine, foster sustainable resources for community health, and develop leadership skills and advocacy training for fellows interested in improving the health and healthcare of underserved communities.

The fellowship consists of 12 months of training and hands-on experience working in an integrative family medicine clinic.

Objectives

1. Further develop a basic clinical knowledge of the diagnosis, treatment, and management of common chronic and acute illness, with a particular focus on the social determinants of health.
2. Identify evidence-based health education and promotion approaches that are successful in underserved urban communities.
3. Participate in team-based care in community health care settings.
4. Identify and work with community resources for mental health and substance abuse care for patients.
5. Identify and gain knowledge in the application of community resources for care for underserved populations.
6. Explore models of care tailored to low-resource settings and the application of these to the future practice of medicine.
7. Gain experience in the role of the physician in patient and community advocacy on a local, state, or national level.
8. Build leadership skills which foster respect for and partnership with underserved communities.

At the beginning of the academic year, fellows are provided with the overall educational goals of the program. The director reviews these materials with each fellow, then midway through the program, the director investigates how well each of these goals is being achieved. These same goals are reviewed at the exit interview, thereby serving as one component of a final competency assessment. 

Fellows will present outcomes of their community health project at a Family Medicine Department Grand Rounds and also to relevant community stakeholder groups.

Over the course of the program, evaluation focuses on core competencies related to patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. In an effort to identify strengths and weaknesses in a timely manner, the director meets with the fellow on a regular basis to review progress toward stated goals. 

Fellows are required to complete evaluations of each faculty member. They also periodically complete written evaluations of the overall program. This information is used to make continuous improvements to the program.