Health professions training programs: Evaluation of their role in community health centers

Community health centers depend upon the US government for federal support of mid-level and physician health care providers training programs for patient care. The 110th Congress faces reauthorization decisions this year for several of these key programs. To better understand the extent of such programs in health centers, a survey was conducted to evaluate the role and importance of primary care health professions training programs in community health centers nationwide and to assess the benefits, challenges, and implications of implementing these programs.

Data was obtained via an online survey distributed to health center ED/CEOs. Survey follow-up included e-mails and phone calls to ensure a nationally representative sample. Frequency calculations were applied to the aggregate data, as well as data subsets representing specific training programs. Preliminary data indicates that 41% of centers participate in residency rotations, 50% in medical student rotations, and 50% in other types of training programs. Improved recruitment of health professionals and opportunity to influence students' future practices, rated 3.63 and 3.44 out of a 4.0 scale, respectively, were cited as ‘most important' reasons to participate in a health professions training program, regardless of program type. Centers rated lost productivity while teaching as ‘most important' at 3.08 and cost and space constraints as ‘important' at 2.92 and 2.88, respectively, as their biggest challenges to participating in health professions training. While many health centers benefit from improved recruitment and retention of health professionals, cost, space, and lost productivity continue to challenge implementation of health professions training programs.