CART Curriculum and Faculty

CART consists of five required experiences that define the core curriculum. All students completing the core curriculum receive a Certificate of Knowledge in Community Medicine, presented by the Division of Community Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

1. Core Concepts Seminar

2. Pre-Clinical Electives Program (PEP)

3. Community Medicine Elective

4. Ambulatory Care Rotation

5. Community Service Core

Core Concepts Seminar: All students enrolling in CART attend four hours of instruction provided during the first month of the first year in two, two-hour sessions. An hour is devoted to each of the four CART essential concepts of population medicine, community-based participatory research, health promotion / disease prevention, and social determinants of health.

Pre-Clinical Electives Program (PEP): The course entitled “Public Health and Epidemiology,” facilitated by Dr. Robert Haley, is offered every fall and is open to all medical students. This course is required of all CART enrollees, who ideally take it during their second year.

Community Medicine Elective: This four-week elective is required of all students enrolled in CART and is completed during either the third or fourth year of training. Students are introduced to formal and informal medical, public health, and social support programs involved in community health care.

Ambulatory Care Rotation: This four-week rotation is required of all UT Southwestern students during the fourth year and is completed in either family medicine, women’s health or internal medicine. For the purposes of CART, practice sites are identified which allow students to obtain valuable clinical experience providing primary care family medicine to underserved patients.

Community Service Core (CSC): Each year, all UT Southwestern students participate in service projects designed to contribute useful health-related service to the community. Students may participate in existing projects or help develop new projects in collaboration with community partners. The CSC is designed to reinforce the lessons learned throughout the CART core, while exposing students to settings they might not otherwise encounter as part as their formal medical education.

Nora Gimpel, M.D.,* Director, Chief, Community Medicine Division, Family Medicine

Mark DeHaven, Ph.D.,* Founding Director, Chief, Division of Community Health Sciences