Family Medicine Health Policy Curriculum

In response to the rapid pace of change in the health care delivery market and to growing interest among our residents, Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine has offered a Health Policy curriculum since 2008. Designed to complement the longitudinal Health Systems Management curriculum, the Health Policy curriculum exposes our residents to a range of issues facing family physicians and their patients within an increasingly complex delivery system.

The curriculum seeks to address health policy on both the theoretical and the real life level. Didactics are scheduled covering current topics affecting health policy, led by full-time and volunteer faculty as well as guest presenters from MemorialCare and outside organizations. In addition, residents are given opportunity to participate in advocacy activities, both locally and in Sacramento and Washington, DC. These include attendance at events with elected representatives in the Long Beach area; participation in state and federal, issue-focused advocacy (through CAFP and AAFP); and advocacy training and events sponsored by our state and national academies and by MemorialCare. These activities are addressed in greater detail in our new Health Policy Area of Concentration.