The Primary Ambulatory Care Experience (PACE) program is a longitudinal, continuity of care experience for first and second-year medical students that allows them to experience and participate in patient health care delivery as directed by primary care physicians practicing pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, or geriatrics in the community. It is the first experience in community-based medicine for our students, and is essential to the College of Medicine’s mission, vision, and values.
Our PACE preceptors are volunteer faculty who invite our medical students into their clinical practices at various timepoints throughout their first and second preclinical years, providing an opportunity for students to experience and learn about primary care medical practice and perform basic medical interviewing and physical exam skills with guidance and mentoring from the physicians and their team.
In a gesture of gratitude for these invaluable contributions, the College of Medicine has created a certificate of recognition for PACE preceptors and will be distributing the certificates and a NEOMED pin to the PACE practices. As a college community, we want to acknowledge the important role these physician educators have in preparing our students to become compassionate, patient-centered physicians and future leaders in our community.
Volunteer Vikil Girdhar, M.D., is a preceptor who works at AxessPointe Community Health Center in the Integrated Care location within Portage Path Behavioral Health in Akron, as well as in the Barberton clinic
--Submitted by Nichole Ammon, Alyssa Pryor, and Jennifer Hillyer
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