The CDC Milestones Project

Advancing Integration of Population Health into Graduate Medical Education

CDC is working with external partners to advance the integration of public health competencies into graduate medical education. Since the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s 2012 report, Primary Care and Public Health: Exploring Integration to Improve Population Health, CDC has adopted the integration of health care and public health as one of its overarching priorities. The CDC Milestones Project was initiated in response to input from stakeholders that integrating public health principles and standards of practice into graduate medical education is essential in the new health system environment.

On August 21, 2013, more than 40 residency educators, medical specialists, residents, health-systems transformation leaders, state and local health officials, and graduate medical education leaders joined CDC staff at an exploratory kickoff meeting in Atlanta entitled Advancing Integration of Population Health into Graduate Medical Education: The CDC Milestones Project. Participants discussed how to develop milestones of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that demonstrate medical resident mastery of population health.

• The day’s discussions were captured in a meeting summary [PDF - 12 Pages] .

With CDC funding, the Association of American Medical Colleges and Duke University will continue to identify, enhance, and add to existing graduate medical education population health milestones and program requirements for primary and specialty care residencies and will work across the graduate medical education system toward their implementation.