Thursday, October 24, 1996
HEALTH:
Efforts to attract general-practice students key week of
activitiesBy Kathryn Combs
Daily Bruin Contributor
This week marks the first-ever National Primary Health Care Week
at UCLA, sponsored by the UCLA School of Medicine and Charles R.
Drew University of Medical Sciences in collaboration with various
student and medical-oriented groups.
The week’s activities highlight the importance of primary care
to current medical students in the hopes of directing them into
more comprehensive fields. Primary care, which refers to a
patient’s initial consultation with a general medical doctor, is an
increasing demand of the public, organizers said.
"(Medical schools) don’t dissuade you from following where your
talent lies but, there is definitely a push toward primary care and
the acceptance of applicants who are interested," said Erik
Fernandez, a second-year Drew/UCLA medical education student.
National Primary Health Care Week is an extended celebration of
National Primary Health Care Day, observed by 140 other medical
schools and institutions nationwide Oct. 10.
Designed to explore, educate and promote various opportunities
available to medical students and medical school hopefuls, the
week’s activities included panels discussing primary care and team
approaches to health care delivery.
Dr. Reed Tuckson, President of Charles R. Drew University of
Medicine and Sciences, spoke Wednesday on the necessity of equal
access to health care.
Since the 1920’s, the number of medical specialists has
increased, Tuckson said. As a result, the availability of primary
health care has decreased drastically  having the largest
impact on underserved populations not able to afford or obtain
access to specialized care. "The underserved are your friends,
neighbors and relatives … fellow Americans, fellow human beings,"
said Tuckson "We are living in a country with over 2,000 medical
shortage areas. We’ve still got well over 40 million uninsured
Americans."
More and more medical students over the years have been inclined
to specialize in one aspect of medicine because it typically
generated a larger income.
"Specialized care provided significant cash flow … thus there
was no incentive to invest in primary care … primary care was
often the stepchild of medicine." said Dr. David Hayes-Bautista,
Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and professor
of internal medicine.
But that tendency is now reversing. Recently, the salary of
general physicians is on the rise, attracting many back into the
field.
"There is a rekindling of interest in primary care. We have seen
drops in the utilization of specialized care," Hayes-Bautista said.
"The trends are now being very much affected by the new medical
economy."
Primary care benefits patients since the physicians have a more
well-rounded knowledge of medicine.
"There’s a myth that primary care physicians don’t know very
much because they have to know so much," said Kevin Nguyen, a
second-year Drew/UCLA medical education student and co-chair of the
Medical Student Committee for National Primary Health Care Week
1996. "The knowledge base of primary- care physicians has to be
tremendous in order for them to perform their duties."
Specialized physicians are trained to focus on only one aspect
of a patient’s health and may overlook a patient’s general
health
"Seventy percent of illnesses and associated costs are caused by
preventable illnesses," said Tuckson in his speech.
Primary-care physicians have a broader understanding of a
patient’s health, including external health factors, such as
environment, fitness and family.
"There’s been a realization that someone needs to look after the
health of the entire patient in relation to their families," said
Hayes-Bautista. "We have seen drops in the utilization of
specialized care."