This application requests support for development of a longitudinal multidisciplinary educational program in preventive cardiology at SUNY-Health Science Center at Syracuse. A model curriculum for the medical school has been designed with 2 major components; pre-clinical curricular innovation in the first 2 years, and clinical preventive practice experience in the last 2 years. The pre-clinical base of the program will begin during freshman orientation when each student will develop his/her own cardiovascular risk profile. Multiple exposures to preventive cardiology will be incorporated into the existing preclinical curriculum in relevant basic science disciplines. There will be interdisciplinary Clinical Correlation Seminars with consultants who review the evidence for specific risk factors; training in appropriate history taking during a course in Communications Skills; experience in initiating behavioral modification using trained simulated patients; and formal review of the major epidemiologic studies relevant to preventive cardiology. During the clinical years, students will be formally exposed again to preventive cardiology as part of the core curriculum in Pediatrics, Medicine and Family Practice. Students and house staff will interact with a Preventive Cardiology Consultation Service established for evaluation of inpatients with manifest atherosclerotic disease. A 3-hour seminar using case studies with varying risk factor patterns will be introduced into the clerkship in Preventive Medicine. Multiple elective experiences in the practice of preventive cardiology will be offered. The effectiveness of the program will be assessed by evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and behavior of freshman and seniors. The Principal Investigator initiated her formal training in preventive cardiology teaching and research with attendance at the Ten Day Seminar on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in July, 1987. A preceptorship has been arranged in preventive medicine through the Department of Family Medicine. Formal training in curriculum development is planned through a 2 week elective at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A 3 month fellowship in community based preventive cardiology has been arranged in a model community setting. Ongoing research is anticipated with 3 projects already identified. With implementation of an effective preventive cardiology curriculum and development of trained faculty committed to teaching preventive cardiology, the program should be readily sustained on completion.
