Danielle Simpson ’13, back row on the left in green, stands with other medical students in the #growfamilymedicine. This picture was taken at one of the student-run free clinics overseen by family medicine physicians.
Danielle Simpson | Courtesy
It took less than 36 hours for a highly ranked New York City hospital to fire and rehire 30 primary care physicians.
Danielle Simpson ’13, a third-year medical student at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, joined the student outcry when the school’s affiliated hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian, decided that they were closing their Family Medicine Residency Program and effectively firing 30 primary care physicians.
Immediately mobilizing when they heard the news, over 300 medical students packed a town hall to show how much the whole student body valued primary care, even though only a few students from every class typically specialize in family medicine, Simpson said.
On Oct. 13, a day after the announcement, the hospital and medical school reversed their decision in an announcement on Twitter.
“All of us were very upset that our school was going to let go family medicine doctors who are very active in community outreach and our are beloved mentors,” Simpsons said. “From the student perspective, family medicine is the most complete and efficient model of primary care, and it’s the best to learn from because of all the opportunities available.”
By 2020, it is expected that America will experience an extreme shortage of family medicine physicians. The Health Resources and Services Administration projects this number to be 20,400 unfilled positions.
“We, as a country, are really bad at doing preventive healthcare and dealing with chronic illness,” Simpson said. “For that reason, primary care is one of the most efficient and meaningful directions for future doctors to consider.”
Family medicine physicians oversee many of the student-run free clinics in underserved areas of New York City, care that could have ended if students, faculty, and staff had not organized so swiftly.
Although Columbia Medical School and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital reversed their decision, Simpson said students are working with faculty administration and affiliated hospitals to ensure family medicine remains a foundation of the school.
Dr. Leslie Bennet, a seasoned family practice physician at Hillsdale Community Health Center, said she sees the upheaval at Columbia as particular to the institution and not an American trend.
“In general, primary care is a difficult field to practice in,” Bennet said. “Right now, with the different government swings in healthcare, hospitals are trying to value preventive care with the mindset of keeping people out of the hospital to save money.”
Like Simpson, Bennet defended family medicine as a cornerstone of medical education.
“When you are looking for overall health, that’s where family practice physicians are very valuable,” Bennet said. “There is this tug and pull because as a family physician, I am the one who refers people to big-expenditure procedures.”
After shadowing his own family doctor, junior Stevan Ludkin felt called to enter medical school for family medicine with the dream of running his own practice someday.
Ludkin said he liked that family medicine physicians are “the patient’s first line of defense” and combine and compare patient results from other specialists.
“By watching my family doctor, I saw how important it is to be a good listener, not only to develop a good relationship with the patient, but to make a correct diagnosis.” Ludkin said.
Columbia medical students identify their efforts to strengthen primary care with #growfamilymedicine, which can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Hundreds gathered at a town hall after NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital announced the decision to end the Family Medicine Residency Program.
#growfamilymedicine | Courtesy