By Kiran Sidhu
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Hofstra’s School of Medicine recently received a $1.7 Million IMPACcT grant (Improving Patient Access, Care and Cost through Training) through the U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

The grant money will be awarded over three years through HRSA’s Primary Care Training and Enhancement Program, which aims to improve all aspects of the primary care workforce by producing more experienced primary care doctors.

With only two percent of medical students interested in pursuing specifically primary care, based on a study by the New York Times in 2012, IMPACcT was created to boost the involvement in the workforce.

Despite the lack of recent interest in primary care, Nicole, a sophomore biology major from Hofstra, who hopes to attend Hofstra’s School of Medicine, doesn’t plan on switching career choices anytime soon. “I know there is a lot of stigma about becoming a primary care doctor, because people think you’re taking the easy way out, with less schooling and accepting a lower paying job,” she said. “I want to become a specialized doctor, because it’s more demanding and more interesting to me.”

Though primary care doctors go through significantly less schooling and enjoy better relationships with their patients, there are aren’t enough medical students interested. With lower pay, usually longer hours and mountains of paperwork, most medical students entering residency move to the specialty fields of medicine.

The IMPACcT grant will fund teams of medical trainees at two Hofstra-affiliated locations, North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Hospital’s Department of Medicine.

Teams will consist of residents from Hofstra University’s School of Medicine, physician assistants from Hofstra’s School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies, pharmacy students from St. John’s and psychology trainees, all of whom will provide care to patients who come to the clinic.

Hofstra also wants to incorporate medical students who have an interest in primary care in the future, giving them a chance to be a part of these teams for three years of the medical school education.

“This is the key,” said Alice Fornari, professor, associate dean and assistant vice president of the School of Medicine. “If we don’t expose young pre-professionals to primary care in a positive light, not a negative, they will not consider it as a career choice.”

Professor Fornari, a main proponent in Hofstra acquiring the grant, believes that creating these intra-professional teams and increasing the number of trainees going into primary care will only lead to an improved educational experience. Students’ exposure to training and role models will ensure the primary care workforce in the future, and boost doctor-patient relationships, according to Fornari.

The IMPACcT grant provides adequate funding for the real-world experience of the budding medical professionals. HRSA is investing $94 million more into the health care workforce to support the education and training of next generation doctors.

“What makes a career choice for medical students is two things, experiences they had and who they met,” Fornari said.