The Patient Project In the Institute of Medicine's definition of primary care, continuity is one of the distinguishing characteristics. But in medical school, experience with continuity of care is difficult to come by.
Students rotate from one service to another, one hospital to another.
The experience of managing a chronic illness over time, of observing an infant's milestones from first smile to first steps, of using knowledge of the patient's past responses to illness in the evaluation of the present complaint, is not easily included in a student's education. One of our hopes for the Mentor experience is that it will provide the opportunity for each student to establish a relationship with at least one patient that will demonstrate the contributions of continuity of care. We ask you as a Mentor to help the student locate a patient in your practice that he or she can get to know better and whose course can be observed over time. A patient who visits fairly frequently and who might enjoy extra attention and the opportunity to contribute to a medical student's education is an ideal candidate. More contact between student and patient is desirable, but not always manageable.