Community Medicine Fellowship

at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Department of Family and Community Medicine

 Division of Community Medicine

• The Community Medicine Fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center educates primary care physicians in effectively using principles of public health, epidemiology and preventive medicine in new and innovative ways.

• Participants in this one-year fellowship actively contribute to the community through culturally competent approaches. All fellows complete a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project. Using CBPR principles, fellows develop replicable models for understanding the causes of health and disease, and implement tools for promoting healthier lives for individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities.

• The fellowship prepares primary care physicians for leadership roles in the community and in academic medicine. They gain experience in teaching medical students and residents in different aspects of community medicine, and also participate in the faculty development lectures provided by the department.

• Fellows have their continuity clinic at the Family Medicine Clinic at Parkland Hospital, which mainly concentrates on the underserved population in Dallas County, and participate in innovative practices (such as shared medical appointments) to provide care to patients with specific chronic diseases.

• The opportunity to obtain a certificate in Public Health is available.

CURRENT FELLOW:

Natalia Gutierrez-Chefchis, M.D.
Board Certified in Family Medicine

Dr. Gutierrez-Chefchis began her community medicine development while she was a resident at UT Southwestern in family medicine.  There she implemented a shared medical appointment program for Spanish-speaking diabetic patients as part of her community medicine research track.  As a fellow, she has continued her research on shared medical appointments, and is currently working on a certificate of public health while maintaining her busy clinic at Parkland.