Building Partnerships: Educating Health Professionals for the Communities They Serve / Edition 1

by Ronald W. Richards

Overview

A New Way to Serve the Community

A study of a major initiative that is changing the course of medical education—the Community Partnerships, sponsored by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Rather than promote a single solution, Community Partnerships bridge the gap that exists between the culture of communities and the culture of academe by creating viable linking organizations to connect the two. This book also examines the role public policy plays in contributing to the current systems of health professions' education and how public policy can support change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787901509
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	11/07/1995
Series:	Jossey-Bass Health
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.32(w) x 9.41(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

RONALD W. RICHARDS is program director, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and professor of medical education, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University.

Table of Contents

Foreword
1. The Primary Health Care Crisis
2. From Problems to Solutions: A Bridge Between Cultures
3. Community Partnerships in Progress(with Rebecca Henry)
4. The Nature of Academic Health Centers
5. The Nature of Communities(with Bruce Behringer)
6. New Organizational Structures(with Patricia Maguire Meservey)
7. The Role of Public Policy in Changing Health Professionals' Education
8. If We Change What We Pay For, We Change What We Get(with Henry A. Foley)
9. Evaluation as a Tool for Reform(with Rebecca Henry)
10. Multidisciplinary Care and Education(Patricia T. Castiglia)
11. Leading Educational Reform

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Leslie J. Sandlow, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description: This is a new book written to make health professionals aware of the problems in educating health professionals in concert with the various communities they will serve. The book has several authors who have background and experience in the topics they discuss. The book is an overview that provides a description of one possible solution currently under study.
Purpose: The purpose is to describe the problems generated by the differences between the education of health professionals and the perception by various communities of their healthcare needs. The book suggests some of the cultural differences between the health professions and the communities they serve and describes the role of public policy in this problem. It describes one alternative solution and provides results of this alternative and then details the lessons learned. These worthy objectives were partially met. There is a tendency to slant the text toward what appears to be the author's bias as noted in the chapters he wrote. The community partnerships appear to be great initiatives in dealing with these problems, but one wonders if it might be to soon to derive lessons and solutions from these initiatives.
Audience: The audience, according to the author, includes health professionals in general and health professional educators in particular. In my view, the book is aimed at health professionals and educators who are new to the field. The author is certainly a credible authority in the subject matter of the book.
Features: This book has no illustrations and would not benefit from them. The few charts and tables are appropriate; more are not needed. The references are pertinent and timely. The overall appearance of the book is pleasant and appropriate for the topic and content.
Assessment: This book presents a useful orientation to the issues surrounding the gap in the relationship between the education of health professionals and the needs, especially perceived needs, of the communities served. The references are useful for those familiar with the topic who wish to explore the issues more thoroughly. The solution suggested is interesting and theoretically addresses the issues. It will be useful to have a follow-up as the projects progress.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody

This is a new book written to make health professionals aware of the problems in educating health professionals in concert with the various communities they will serve. The book has several authors who have background and experience in the topics they discuss. The book is an overview that provides a description of one possible solution currently under study. The purpose is to describe the problems generated by the differences between the education of health professionals and the perception by various communities of their healthcare needs. The book suggests some of the cultural differences between the health professions and the communities they serve and describes the role of public policy in this problem. It describes one alternative solution and provides results of this alternative and then details the lessons learned. These worthy objectives were partially met. There is a tendency to slant the text toward what appears to be the author's bias as noted in the chapters he wrote. The community partnerships appear to be great initiatives in dealing with these problems, but one wonders if it might be to soon to derive lessons and solutions from these initiatives. The audience, according to the author, includes health professionals in general and health professional educators in particular. In my view, the book is aimed at health professionals and educators who are new to the field. The author is certainly a credible authority in the subject matter of the book. This book has no illustrations and would not benefit from them. The few charts and tables are appropriate; more are not needed. The references are pertinent and timely. The overall appearance of the book is pleasant andappropriate for the topic and content. This book presents a useful orientation to the issues surrounding the gap in the relationship between the education of health professionals and the needs, especially perceived needs, of the communities served. The references are useful for those familiar with the topic who wish to explore the issues more thoroughly. The solution suggested is interesting and theoretically addresses the issues. It will be useful to have a follow-up as the projects progress.

Leslie J. Sandlow