Abstract
While it is known around the world for its prestigious research, the University of Washington School of Medicine has played a pioneering role in medical education, particularly in the area of primary care. Long before country was cool, the school had established a highly regarded community based teaching program aimed at providing primary care for underserved rural areas and three decades ago was the first center to offer an additional year of training in general internal medicine. Even as other centers aspire to integrate health services research with clinical practice, Washington finds itself sitting in a hotbed of information management that naturally blends into its long-term mission.
At the helm of the medical center is Paul G. Ramsey, MD. Ramsey, who first came to the school as a senior fellow in infectious diseases in 1978, was named vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine in May 1997 after serving seven years as chair of the Department of Medicine. Interviewed in his office in Seattle, Ramsey reflected on the shape of medical education in the Pacific Northwest and the strong primary care component of this mission.
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