Overview
The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health interacts with medical students at all levels of training. These interactions include:
- Shadowing experiences in the first year
- Mentoring as students are introduced to clinical medicine
- The core Family Medicine Clerkship
- Several electives
Many of these interactions take place in the community in private doctor's offices or at residency training sites. These are the frontline experiences in medical care. Some of the sites are located in West Philadelphia, where community plays an important role in health outcomes. Others are located within a two-hour radius of the city, providing a different perspective on primary care.
Students also interact with the Department through research. Fields of research in our department include these areas, as well as many others:
- Depression in the elderly
- Adherence to antidepressant therapy
- End–of–life care
- Literacy
- Obstetrics
Some students do summer projects, and others do their scholarly pursuits with Penn's research faculty. There is also an active Family Medicine Interest Group the Department uses, which offers activities including lunch talks, dinners, and a suturing workshop. The Department also offers advisory services to any student who is potentially interested in family medicine as a career.
Contacts
Katherine Margo, MD
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
2 Gates, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283
Office: 215-614-0848
Fax: 215-662-3591
E-mail: margok@uphs.upenn.edu
Kent Bream, MD
Associate Director for Medical Student Education
Department of Family Medicine
and Community Health bream@mail.med.upenn.edu
Mario DeMarco, MD
Site Director for Penn Family Care
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Mario.DeMarco@uphs.upenn.edu
Diana M. Brown
Academic Program Coordinator
Family Medicine Clerkship
diana.brown@uphs.upenn.edu