Preventative Care:

Pap catch-up: how a Family Medicine Resident can make your day

Family Medicine residents are our future, we hope! 

How can we show them that longitudinal primary care is not only worthwhile but can still be a satisfying and enjoyable career?

As a first step in forging a connection, residents from the Mount Sinai Family Medicine program were matched to a handful of SCOPE physician offices to help with pandemic Pap catch-up for 1 to 2 half days month. This has been a win win connection. Residents appreciated the chance to practice their Pap skills and meet family physicians in the community. Feedback has been very positive from family physicians as well. Here is one example:

Dr. Morch was absolutely delighted with the resident. In fact, his elective for next month fell through and the SCOPE office had him come to their clinic for three days a week the next month for his elective, even though they don't normally take elective residents.

We are also planning other opportunities for connections between community family physicians and family medicine residents.  There are plans for 'lunchtime chats’ with residents at the Toronto Western Family Health Team and SCOPE docs for informal discussion with a chance to get frank answers to real questions about work life balance, family, a career in family medicine, etc.

Please let us know if you have any other ideas that can help foster family medicine resident and community family doctor connections.