PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jean S. Kutner
AU  - John M. Westfall
AU  - Elizabeth H. Morrison
AU  - Mary Catherine Beach
AU  - Elizabeth A. Jacobs
AU  - Roger A. Rosenblatt
TI  - Facilitating Collaboration Among Academic Generalist Disciplines: A Call to Action
AID  - 10.1370/afm.392
DP  - 2006 Mar 01
TA  - The Annals of Family Medicine
PG  - 172--176
VI  - 4
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/4/2/172.short
4100  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/4/2/172.full
SO  - Ann Fam Med2006 Mar 01; 4
AB  - To meet its population’s health needs, the United States must have a coherent system to train and support primary care physicians. This goal can be achieved only though genuine collaboration between academic generalist disciplines. Academic general pediatrics, general internal medicine, and family medicine may be hampering this effort and their own futures by lack of collaboration. This essay addresses the necessity of collaboration among generalist physicians in research, medical education, clinical care, and advocacy. Academic generalists should collaborate by (1) making a clear decision to collaborate, (2) proactively discussing the flow of money, (3) rewarding collaboration, (4) initiating regular generalist meetings, (5) refusing to tolerate denigration of other generalist disciplines, (6) facilitating strategic planning for collaboration among generalist disciplines, and (7) learning from previous collaborative successes and failures. Collaboration among academic generalists will enhance opportunities for trainees, primary care research, and advocacy; conserve resources; and improve patient care.