A $1.18 million grant to the N.C. Academy of Family Physicians Foundation is designed to bolster interest in an area of general medicine that is likely to be in short supply as health reforms unfold in upcoming years.
The grant, announced this morning from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C. Foundation, will fund mentoring programs among family physicians in the state, giving medical students exposure to role models in a clinical practice settings. The goal is to boost by 30 percent the number of young physicians heading into family medicine.
The specialty is among the most needed under the health care overhaul Congress passed earlier this year. One projection indicates that by 2020, North Carolina will need another 2,000 family physicians. There are currently 2,700 family physicians in the state, according to a study by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Under the new collaboration between the state's family physicians and BCBSNC Foundation, doctors will mentor students for three consecutive years to strengthen skills, offer guidance and provide hands-on experience.
Students at all four of the state's medical schools are eligible to apply for the Family Medicine Interest and Scholars Program. Students who participate will have the opportunity to access scholarship funding if they decide to enter a family medicine residency program.
“We understand that pursuing family medicine is often not an easy choice for medical students," Greg Griggs, executive vice president of the family physician foundation, said in a prepared statement. "We believe this grant will help make family medicine more of an option for North Carolina medical students. And the access to dedicated mentors will help these students provide quality medical care to patients across the state."
