Posted by: Atlas MD

February 12, 2018

Educating the Next Generation: Inviting Med Students and Residents into Your DPC Practice.

When DPC first introduced itself to healthcare, there was a lot of patient education involved. Nobody knew what it was, how it worked, if they could even trust it.

Things have changed quite a bit since 2010, haven’t they?

There are Direct Care practices opening up every day across the country – each serving their community in a unique, personal, transparent way.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things there’s still a long way to go, but Direct Care is finding its way into the homes and hearts of millions of Americans. Which means our duty as practicing DPC providers is not only to our patients, but to the next generation of providers as well. There are any given number of traditional healthcare environments a med student or resident can walk into and get a glimpse of. We need to make sure we open our doors to them as well. But we have to take it a step further.

We have to invite them in not only to our practices, but to our lives. Because DPC is as much about living a certain lifestyle as it is about helping patients. In fact, it’s because we live this lifestyle of freedom that we’re better able to serve our patients in the first place. It’s true – the cadence of Direct Care is slower, more intentional, and more personal because the DPC platform makes it so.

It’s not too good to be true. It’s possible to live your life, love your life, and serve your patients well all at the same time and young docs desperately need to see that. So in the name of transparency and a better healthcare solution for Americans and providers alike, open your doors to interns, med students, and docs coming out of traditional environments. In the long run, they’re not competition. They’re your partners in this whole movement that you already know is greater than just one person or practice.

So what’s the implementation here? How do you actually invite them in? Usually it’s as simple as contacting your local hospitals, residency programs, and schools. Send an email. Give them a call. Let them know you’re available for anyone who’s interested to swing by and take a look. While they’re there, show them around your system, too. Set them up in Atlas so they can really dig in at the ground level. (Set ‘em up as a nurse so they’re free and can prescribe in your name. Then you can delete their user when they’re gone and it won’t affect anything they did while they were shadowing you.)

Direct Care laid the ground work for you, didn’t it? Chances are you had someone to show you the ropes. Now you have an amazing opportunity to share your experience with the next generation – making DPC even better along the way.