For the past seven years the physicians of Pittsfield, Mass, have been engaged in an experiment in graduate medical education. This report states the purpose of the project, describes the initial phases, preliminary results, and discusses the interrelationships between a community hospital and a university medical center.
Medical educators agree that the highest quality of education, with few exceptions, is found in the university environment. In 1966, university hospitals accommodated only one half the total number of house officers; the other half were located in nonuniversity hospitals. Since university hospitals cannot soon cope with this problem, an urgent challenge emerges: Community hospital programs, of comparable caliber to the university medical center, must be developed.1
The Pittsfield Affiliated Hospitals Education Program was devised to produce an educational environment by simulating the university medical center. The Council on Medical Education has been continuously consulted about the objectives and the progress of