Action and Mentorship Project (AMP)

“As a community, in the community, for the community”

Advisor: Dr. Amanda DeLoureiro, delourea@bu.edu

Student Leadership:

Vision

Despite data on the importance of the primary care workforce to the nation’s health, rates of US medical school graduates entering primary care specialties have declined since the 1990s. From 1997-2005, the number of US medical school graduates entering family medicine residencies dropped by 50%. In 1998, half of internal medicine residents entered primary care, while in 2006 80% chose jobs as specialists or hospitalists. We face a growing shortage of doctors in primary care, and traditional medical education has failed to combat this problem. AMP’s vision is to provide early exposure to opportunities in primary care clinical settings as well as community health outreach to stop this increasing disparity.

Mission

AMP is a four-year track which ensures increased access to family medicine by matching students with family medicine faculty as advisors, facilitators of Integrated Problems (IP), and preceptors for Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM). In addition, AMP students meet monthly for didactic talks (advocacy, social determinants of health, and community medicine), group planning of community outreach, and reflection on clinical experiences.  Students in the second through fourth year are also actively involved in AMP, creating a community of students that spans all four years. The AMP community has a shared mission centering on the value of primary care in the healthcare system, the importance of engaging in community action, and the vital need to support each other’s personal and professional growth during medical training.

Goals

  1. Increase student engagement with family medicine throughout their medical education
  2. Integrate community outreach, advocacy, and didactics into a robust curriculum
  3. Provide mentorship and support to medical students interested in primary care