{"id":26955,"date":"2023-10-23T16:42:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T20:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pediatrics\/education\/?page_id=26955"},"modified":"2025-11-05T14:31:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T19:31:56","slug":"underserved-pathway","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pediatrics\/education\/medpedsres\/program-overview\/underserved-pathway\/","title":{"rendered":"Underserved Pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Department of Health and Human Services defines an <\/em>underserved group<\/strong> as \u201cpopulations that do not have adequate access to medical care. This includes rural, elderly, low-literacy, blue-collar, and poor populations. Minorities per se are not included, but often belong to one or more of the included categories. Similarly, people with special needs and homeless people also may belong to one or more of the included categories.\u201d The U.S. Health Services Administration (HRSA) designates \u201cmedically underserved areas\/populations as areas or populations having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, high poverty, or a high elderly population.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

There is a critical need for physicians interested in rural and underserved care. UNC Health\u2019s mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. The UNC Med-Peds Underserved pathway seeks to train physicians to fulfill this mission. The pathway enhances the educational experience for med-peds residents interested in rural and underserved care in the state through mentorship, clinical experience, research, and didactics.<\/p>\n

Residents will receive a Distinction in Underserved Care at the completion of residency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mentorship<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mentors assist residents in preparing for and debriefing from experiences related to underserved medical care. This could include didactics, clinical experience, or scholarship.<\/p>\n

Curriculum<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Residents will partake in all rotations with their Med-Peds peers during their first year of training. This will allow them to obtain a foundation of knowledge in internal medicine and pediatrics, as well as to bond with their peers and develop a sense of community.<\/p>\n

Residents can apply for the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Underserved Pathway in the Fall\/Winter of their intern year. Upon acceptance, a resident\u2019s elective rotations and special months will be tailored to allow greater exposure to underserved patient populations across North Carolina throughout years two, three, and four of residency. At least two special months and up to four may be used to gain exposure to medical care for underserved patient populations. A minimum of 8 weeks of elective time per year (4 on internal medicine and four on pediatrics) will be used for electives that provide greater training focused on underserved patient populations.<\/p>\n

Since underserved care in our diverse state covers a broad spectrum, it is prudent to have the flexibility to tailor these experiences to the learner\u2019s interests. Residents will receive a Distinction in Underserved Care at the completion of residency.<\/p>\n

Scholarship<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Participants will be expected to complete at least one scholarly project and a morning report related to their experience in the Pathway.<\/p>\n

Didactics<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Accepted applicants must attend at least six events focused on underserved patient care annually.<\/p>\n

Contact\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"\"
Megan Hoppens, <\/strong>MD, Director of Med-Peds Underserved Pathway, Primary Care Physician at NCPIM.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more information,<\/strong> reach out to the program director at Megan.Hoppens@unchealth.unc.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US Department of Health and Human Services defines an underserved group as \u201cpopulations that do not have adequate access to medical care. This includes rural, elderly, low-literacy, blue-collar, and poor populations. Minorities per se are not included, but often belong to one or more of the included categories. Similarly, people with special needs and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112673,"featured_media":0,"parent":22063,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"featured-item":[],"specialty":[],"template-home":[],"class_list":["post-26955","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnderserved Pathway | Pediatric Education<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pediatrics\/education\/medpedsres\/program-overview\/underserved-pathway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Underserved Pathway | Pediatric Education\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The US Department of Health and Human Services defines an underserved group as \u201cpopulations that do not have adequate access to medical care. 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