The newborn nursery provides an ideal setting for introducing basic concepts in primary care. In the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center nursery, a multidisciplinary team considers the many physiologic adjustments a newborn must undergo to adapt successfully to its environment. (Author/MLW)

The Western Pennsylvania Health Preceptorship Program was judged to be effective in introducing students to the practice of primary care medicine and the analyses of determinants of health in communities in Western Pennsylvania and in giving them an understanding of the organization and financing of medical care. (Editor/PG)

The relatively new specialty, family practice, derived from the general practice tradition, has stimulated a renewed interest in personal, comprehensive care of the entire family. Its development since 1946, culminating with its final AMA approval as a medical specialty in 1969, is reviewed. (Author/LBH)

A series of evening supper-seminars, launched as a voluntary extracurricular educational experience, were used to teach one aspect of community medicine in an informal setting at the University of Arizona. The area addressed was community medicine as an interface between medical practitioners and community activities and organizations concerned…

Case studies are presented of the development of primary health care programs at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York City, by John Roglieri, and at Dartmouth Medical School by Thomas Almy. (JT)

The Beth Israel Ambulatory Care Center (BIAC) is a family-centered primary care clinic which replaces the general medical, obstetrical, and pediatric clinics of a major teaching hospital. (Editor)

The new health practitioner is a generic name for nonphysician health personnel who are trained to carry out many of the primary medical functions and tasks which heretofore have been the sole province of the physician. (Editor)

Undergraduate and postgraduate training program for England and Israel are described and assessed for their effect upon career development. Relevant government policy is also reviewed for its impact upon the educational design. Particular attention is directed to evolving medical schools that are attempting innovative approaches to primary care…

Reports a 4-year experience in teaching evaluation of care at a 3-year medical school. Topics are introduction of patient care evaluation, impact of professional standards review organization (PSRO) legislation on program design, results (evaluation of quality assurance program), and future teaching of quality-cost evaluation. (JT)

At the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, a pediatric-psychiatric liaison program has evolved in which pediatric residents learn the principles and skills necessary to manage the emotional, behavioral, and family problems that may be an integral part of the patient's symptoms. (Author/LBH)

An analysis of M.D. and physician's assistant (P.A.) student comparative performances at Baylor College of Medicine is presented. The analysis was seen as being appropriate in view of the P.A.'s increasing involvement with the implementation and monitoring of therapeutic programs. (Author/MLW)

A primary objective of the Weatherhead Border Health Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona was to introduce medical students to international sociomedical problems by providing a firsthand experience in a cross-cultural medical setting. Mexico offered a uniquely accessible environment in which to demonstrate the program's objectives.…

Issues of the medical specialty distribution problem are identified: how to provide an appropriate balance of generalists and consultant physicians and how to ensure appropriate use of technology by physicians. To improve the quality of medical services, the profession must be concerned about the types and numbers of future physicians. (MLW)