How does LOCUS work?

Overview: Students apply to the LOCUS program at the beginning of medical school. They are selected through a written application and interview process; they remain LOCUS fellows until they graduate, and may refine their skills and continue LOCUS activities throughout their medical careers. Students sign an agreement, but participation is entirely voluntary; they may actively withdraw from the program at any time by sending a note to program administrators.

Locus At A Glance (PDF)

Program Components: LOCUS fellows work with physician and community mentors, participate in the core curriculum; and complete a community health project. These program components are described in more detail below:

Mentors

Mentors provide guidance and support to fellows as they progress through the program. Your mentors will:

discuss how to integrate clinical practice with other aspects of personal and professional life;
share their stories of career decisions and experiences that helped shape their personal values and beliefs;
introduce you to community programs and leadership opportunities;
serve as community service project advisors.
be invited to attend and participate in LOCUS retreats and meetings.

The LOCUS program includes several types of mentors: clinical mentors, project mentors and senior LOCUS fellows. These are described below:

Clinical Mentors: As a UW medical student, you will be assigned to a generalist physician preceptor for the Generalist Partner Program (GPP). The GPP serves as a clinical apprenticeship for the first two years of medical school. You will join your GPP preceptor at his/her clinic one afternoon per month. In addition to supervising you in the clinical setting, your GPP preceptor will also serve as your LOCUS clinical mentor. LOCUS clinical mentors are community-based generalist physicians (family doctors, general internists or general pediatricians) who have agreed to take on the additional role of LOCUS mentor; they are themselves community leaders with strong commitments to community health initiatives.
Project Mentors: As fellows select projects, they will also work with LOCUS project mentors. Project mentors may be physicians or other community-based health professionals who work with students to guide development of projects. Project mentors usually have long-term experience working with communities; they help students find effective ways to contribute to ongoing community health initiatives.
Student Mentors: Third and fourth year LOCUS fellows also serve as student mentors to first and second year fellows. Beginning in 2002, all incoming fellows will be matched with a third year LOCUS fellow who will serve as a senior student mentor. Fellows will be able to switch to a student mentor with shared interests once they select a community project. Most fellows will also establish an informal network of additional mentors, who serve as guides for personal or project development.

Core Curriculum

The LOCUS core curriculum is delivered through a series of retreats, workshops and seminars that emphasize active learning methods and include approximately 24 hours of scheduled activities per academic year. The core curriculum is organized around the following themes: 1) Introduction to leadership in medicine; 2) Leadership and one's self; 3) Leadership and others; and 4) Leadership and communities.

A fall overnight retreat is conducted at a site outside of Madison to allow time for personal reflection and group activities in a relaxed setting. A spring day-long retreat is held in Madison. Monthly seminars are held through the remainder of the academic year with alternating noon and evening sessions. Fun, food and time for socializing is regularly included. Fellows are expected to attend scheduled activities except in the case of emergencies or illness.

The core curriculum of LOCUS is coordinated with several other learning opportunities at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. It expands on community and population health lessons taught in the required Patient Doctor and Society course, the third year Primary Care and Pediatric Clerkships, and the 4th Year Preceptorship. The LOCUS program is also coordinated with the Physicians as Health Activists elective. In this class, students meet additional doctors who work as community health activists and develop activist skills such as delivering effective presentations, organizing community efforts, fundraising, working with the media. LOCUS students often join many other community health related programs of the medical school such as MEDIC, DOC and research electives. The UWMS is planning to offer a combined MD/MPH program beginning in 2004 that will provide additional training in population health.

Community Health Project

While the core curriculum helps prepare students for community service, students learn to apply and refine their leadership skills by working through problems and engaging in community health services. Each LOCUS fellow is expected to complete a community health service project, usually working with a small team of individuals.

LOCUS fellows are encouraged to join a community health project team by the end of the first semester of the first year of medical school. The project and team may be selected from a variety of options. LOCUS has established partnerships with the State of Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services Division of Public Health and with the Dane County Medical Society. The UW DFM has a network of clinical practice sites in Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Wausau and Eau Claire in which faculty and residents are engaged in community health programs. Each of these organizations includes a variety of health professionals engaged in ongoing community health initiatives who are enthusiastic about working with medical students. A list of current project options is available on the LOCUS website. Incoming fellows may join public health, county, department or senior LOCUS fellows' projects. LOCUS clinical mentors may also invite students to join in their community health efforts.

LOCUS projects address a wide variety of community health needs. Projects have resulted in programs to provide parenting support for teen mothers, health education for residents of group homes, development of protocols for assessing victims of abuse, and provision of free sports physical exams for uninsured youth (see LOCUS web site for examples).

Most LOCUS fellows devote at least a few hours a week to their community health project. Some LOCUS fellows choose to spend part or all of the summer between the first and second year of medical school working on their project. Stipends are available to students who select this option. Some fellows have continued to work on their project in the third year Primary Care Clerkship as their optional community health project. Others have taken electives in the senior year to complete their projects. Students who select the extended study program can devote additional time to their community project.

LOCUS fellows may also develop their own independent community health project. However, given the limited time available to most medical students we have found that students are more likely to complete a community health project if they join a team. Team projects also allow students to enhance their collaborative skills, and have a greater likelihood of making a sustained impact on the community.