Primary Care

Overview

What you will study

Upon completion of the Primary Care course offered by Harvard University, participants will be able to:

• Develop new and innovative skills in clinical reasoning and problem solving.

• Assess the clinical value of specific diagnostic tests used in general internal medicine and specialty practices, including test sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values.

• Apply up-to-date skills to diagnose, treat, and manage short and long-term complications of COVID-19 in the outpatient setting.

• Broaden understanding of how to provide the best care possible, regardless of sex or gender identification.

• Recognize the side effects and interactions among medications prescribed by primary care clinicians and their consultants.

• Summarize the therapeutic potential of newly developed biomodulators and understand interactions with current therapies and newly described untoward side effects.

• Discuss the expected results of therapies and summarize current treatment strategies for cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurologic/neurovascular, endocrine, ophthalmic, orthopedic, immunologic, reproductive, dermatologic, gastrointestinal, hepatic, geriatric, psychiatric, metabolic, sleep medicine, and women's health conditions.

• Develop strategies to help patients (and yourself) achieve greater stress resiliency.

• Integrate lifestyle messages for patient self-care into daily practice.

• Identify the disease prevention and health promotion priorities of general internal medicine.

• Explain the origins and value of current guidelines and develop implementation of office-based strategies to ensure treatment of elevated cholesterol, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, and osteoporosis.

• Design practical and effective approaches to behavioral health challenges, including alcohol use disorder, marijuana misuse, and opioid addiction.

• Describe how to provide the best pain management.

• Develop confidence with the use of buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorders.

• Apply evidence-based palliative care strategies in clinical practice.

• Create practical home-based interventions for elderly patients that support their autonomy and independence.

• More confidently examine and assess patients with common orthopedic back, shoulder, knee, and hand complaints.