Medical Student Education
The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is committed to offering all medical students with quality medical education. Our faculty and community-based preceptors are engaged in all levels of medical education, from your required first- and second-year curriculum to your in-person clinical experiences in the third- and fourth-year. We have a diverse selection of hands-on electives for students interested in pursuing a career in family medicine. For students interested in other specialties, we guarantee by the end of your required family medicine clerkship you will understand the important role family medicine physicians hold in our healthcare systems and how your future medical partnership can better serve your community.
MEDICAL STUDENTS: Please navigate to our medical student resource page for more information on medical student education in family medicine.
Our program in Medical Student Education works with a diverse population of community-based clinical educators across the greater Twin Cities metro area and beyond. Their support and clinical knowledge have contributed to many medical students becoming successful physicians today. We are committed to supporting and strengthening our family medicine preceptors in their faculty development and clinical teaching skills to improve their own practice and provide outstanding clinical education experiences to our medical students.
FAMILY MEDICINE PRECEPTORS: Please navigate to our family medicine preceptor resource page for more information on how we can better support your role as a clinical educator.
Overview of Courses
Family medicine faculty from the Twin Cities campus direct the following educational offerings:
Required
- Essentials of Clinical Medicine - required for medical students years one and two
- Family Medicine Clerkship - required for medical students years three and four participating in their clinical curriculum
Longitudinal
UMN medical students receive the opportunity to apply for or enroll in the following clerkships. Completion of any of these experiences fulfills the Family Medicine Clerkship requirement.
UMN Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP)
- Nine-month, internationally renowned rural educational opportunity for UMN third-year medical students
- Learn more about the Rural Physician Associate Program
UMN Metropolitan Physician Associate Program (MetroPAP)
- Nine-month longitudinal elective immersing UMN third-year students in the care of an urban population and communities that are underserved with limited access to health care
- Broadway Family Medicine Clinic, the clinic of our North Memorial residency program, is one of the clinic sites
- Learn more about the Metropolitan Physician Associate Program
Urban Community Ambulatory Medicine (UCAM)
- Twelve-week urban medicine clerkship for UMN third- or fourth-year students
- Learn more about Urban Community Ambulatory Medicine
Electives
- Addiction and substance use
- Cardiovascular medicine
- Community health
- Family medicine research
- Healthcare for the underserved
- Human sexuality research
- Obstetrics
- Palliative medicine and hospice
- Rural medicine care
- Sexual problems in clinical medicine
- Sports medicine
Visiting Students
Many of our clinical electives are available to visiting students. Elective rotations will be offered to visiting students following the close of our medical school’s registration dates.
Family Medicine Electives available to Visiting Students include:
Please visit the Medical School’s Visiting Students page for more information on student eligibility and application process.
Interested in a Career in Family Medicine?
Medical students interested in completing their family medicine residency at the University of Minnesota may view our family medicine residency page, which includes information on:
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Our seven family medicine residency programs
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The application process
Please contact Laura Pham at fmrp@umn.edu for more information about residency in family medicine at the University of Minnesota.
Medical Observerships: Due to the highly competitive nature of opportunities for more advanced trainees and those informal training programs, we are unable to coordinate shadowing and observation roles. Alternative opportunities include:
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Pre-Health Student Resource Center - for more information on the University’s Medical School or a career in medicine
- Student Experiences, Fairview (students@Fairview.org) - for observership or volunteer opportunities