Subject: Postgraduate Fellowships for Preventive Medicine Residents

Dear ACPM or AAPHP Member:

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) Board of Regents, at its November 2000 meeting, created a Job Market Initiative in partnership with the American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP). The goal of this initiative is to increase the number and quality of job offerings that express a requirement or preference for physicians with preventive medicine residency training.

One component of the Job Market Initiative is the establishment of postgraduate fellowships for physicians completing their preventive medicine residency training. These fellowships are intended to serve two purposes:

1. Enhance the quality and range of employment opportunities for preventive medicine residents
2. Demonstrate to host organizations the value of preventive medicine training in addressing a wide range of institutional needs

We envision these fellowships as time limited (e.g., one or two years) positions for physicians trained in preventive medicine, to be paid at either the regular salary for a starting physician or the market fellowship rate for that organization, and addressing one or more of the following areas:

• Community or enrolled-population health and healthcare needs assessment(s)
• Policy development in response to findings of needs-assessment studies and other evidence of perceived need
• Advocacy for policy initiatives, and translation of policy into grant applications and/or budget requests
• Development of partnerships with community groups, healthcare providers, and healthcare insurers in pursuit of community health objectives
• Planning, oversight, and evaluation of health promotion, behavioral change, prevention, and outreach programs
• HEDIS, HCFA, Joint Commission, and other regulatory compliance programming
• Direct provision of selected clinical and community preventive and/or outreach services
• Design and management of surveillance systems for infections, medical errors, and other preventable conditions
• Epidemiologic analysis, outbreak investigation, and management of disease/injury control programs
• Research
• Translation of science into policy
• Teaching of preventive and population-medicine concepts and skills
• Development and implementation of clinical and community preventive and outreach guidelines (screening, counseling, etc.) for physicians, nurses, and other hands-on healthcare staff
• Quality improvement of both preventive and clinical services, including design of studies and interpretation of statistical data
• Infection control
• Patient safety (reducing medical errors)
• Occupational health – assessment, program development, and provision of service
• Environmental health – assessment, program development, and provision of service
• Health risk assessment (Medicare and other) – development of programming and provision of clinical services
• Bioterrorism and emergency preparedness
• Product development
• Relationships with and/or liaison to government agencies and private foundations vis-à-vis new funding streams, policy issues, and regulatory issues
• Other liaison roles
• Disease and demand management
• Utilization review and cost containment
• Conceptual design of health and medical data systems to assure their clinical, epidemiological, regulatory, and managerial relevance

Based on the content of preventive medicine residency programming and preventive medicine Board examinations, we believe physicians with such specialty training are uniquely qualified to develop and implement policies and programs in these areas to meet the specific needs of the organization and population being served. Physicians trained in preventive medicine provide a bridge that links the statistical, administrative, community-building, and environmental tasks of public health with the physician's understanding of biology, pathology, diagnosis, and therapeutics.