American College of Preventive Medicine

By bringing to the practice world a firm grounding in the core knowledge of preventive medicine and a commitment to evidence-based medicine, the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and its members strengthen academic/practice connections on a daily basis. ACPM members teach in medical schools and in schools of public health, work in hospital clinics and managed care organizations, and represent the field of preventive medicine in medical and public health forums. They provide the much-needed bridge between medicine and public health, evidenced by ACPM’s highly visible role in the AMA/APHA Medicine/Public Health Initiative established to bridge the gaps separating these two sectors.

Core Activities
Through its annual meeting, PREVENTION, and its journal, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, both cosponsored with the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM), ACPM is able to highlight the development, examination and evaluation of numerous academic/practice linkages. Topics recently addressed include the development of a guide to community preventive services, quality improvement in managed care, and lessons learned from Healthy People 2000.

Postgraduate Training
ACPM is most involved in academic/practice linkages through postgraduate training in the specialty. There are over 80 preventive medicine residency training programs, virtually all of which include rotations in settings where public health is practiced.

The following activities highlight ACPM’s role in this area:

Preventive Medicine Competencies: With support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), existing preventive medicine competencies have been reviewed and new competencies in medical management have been developed. These competencies, developed by academicians and practitioners working together, provide

the framework to enhance the practice of public health in many settings, including public health agencies, managed care organizations, academia and private industry.

Workshop for Program Directors: The fifth workshop for program directors, supported by HRSA, was held February 9-11, 1998. The workshop, which annually brings together directors of residencies in all three specialty areas of preventive medicine, focused on how training can meet the demands of today’s job market, activities of the Residency Review Committee, and funding of residency programs.

Workshop on Combined Training: A workshop on combined residency training in primary care/preventive medicine, also supported by HRSA, was held in January 1997. This workshop explored issues related to residency training in primary care and preventive medicine, and looked at potential federal demonstration projects in this area. Model programs were presented and discussed. This workshop has laid the groundwork for a Medicine/Public Health Initiative, in which ACPM is playing a key role, to examine public health and preventive medicine content in primary care residency programs.

Directory of Training Programs: The seventh edition of the Directory of Preventive Medicine Residency Programs in the U.S. and Canada, published with support from HRSA, is now available, providing background information on the specialty and postgraduate training requirements. The Directory is also available on ACPM’s web page: www.acpm.org.

Additionally, ACPM, with strong support from ATPM and the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), has committed significant resources to seeking financial support for postgraduate training in preventive medicine. A contract lobbyist was hired in 1997, and the inclusion of preventive medicine in report language of the final Budget agreement of Congress indicates the success of this effort. Under the provision to permit payment to non-hospital providers for costs incurred in the operation of a Medicare-approved medical residency training program, the following language is included: "... The Conferees also note that preventive medicine residency training occurs most often in non-hospital settings, and the Conferees encourage the Secretary to examine carefully the opportunities to provide support to such training programs." Efforts to secure new funding sources for preventive medicine residencies continue with a renewal of the consultant contract and the development of a proposal for a demonstration project.

A related effort is the ACPM Careers Initiative. Under this program, a brochure on careers in preventive medicine has been published, and will be widely disseminated to medical students and others to increase awareness and knowledge of career opportunities in the field. HRSA supports this initiative.