According to Dr. Tom Greer, an associate professor who heads the medical student education section of the UW Department of Family Medicine, these topics were chosen because they're not emphasized elsewhere during the clinical training years. Founded more than 20 years ago, the program draws medical students to public service activities in King County. The students work with community groups to identify unmet needs, then develop ongoing service projects. Projects have included a Saturday Clinic at a subsidized urban housing development, a dermatology clinic at a downtown shelter, a flu shot clinic for the elderly, a diabetic foot care program, cooking for people homebound with AIDS, and pre-sports physicals for high school students. The program has recently added teen mentoring and health promotion for youth.
CHAP gives medical students the skills to address public concerns in an effective manner.
It has added training sessions to keep students informed on pertinent issues, such as the problems of the homeless, how to reach out to adolescents, and how to provide medical care to persons with chronic mental illness. Dr. Sharon Dobie, an associate professor of family medicine who was an urban planner before becoming a physician, is the CHAP faculty advisor. Each of these programs, and several others at the UW medical school, are part of the medical school's mission to train physicians capable of meeting the health care needs of the public in the five-state region it serves.