Primary C.A.R.E. Summer Team Immersion Program Launches
This summer, the Departments of Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, OB-GYN, and Med-Peds jointly launched a successful pilot program for medical students called the “Primary C.A.R.E. (Community, Advocacy, Research, Education) Summer Team Immersion Program.”
Student Programming
The immersive experiential program is dedicated to developing community and teamwork throughout U-M’s primary care programs through mentorship, scholarship, clinical skills development, and community health advocacy and engagement.
In this 14-week program, students who were between their M1 and M2 years were placed on a Community of Practice, Education, or Scholarship project team based on their interests. In this pilot year, 15 students were paired with faculty mentors across primary care departments and worked on 10 total projects.
Students also had the opportunity to attend a workshop on advocacy led by Alli Ruff, MD, professor of internal medicine and co-director of the patients and populations branch within the U-M Medical School.
Poster Presentation
The program culminated in a poster presentation showcase on September 22, 2026. Students Trevor Cady and Meredith Redick, whose team was led by Tammy Chang, MD, associate professor of family medicine, earned the honor of “Best Poster” for their work titled “Food Affordability and Dietary Decision-Making Among American Adolescents and Young Adults.”
“I am blown away by the engagement in this work - our students, our faculty and staff and primary care scholars all came together to build something new and enduring through the Primary C.A.R.E. Summer Team Immersion Program, and I am excited to see the impact on our learners, our teams and the community we serve,” said Margaret L. Dobson, MD, association chair for educational programs within the Department of Family Medicine and director of primary care initiatives with the U-M Medical School.
Project Leaders and Collaborators
The project planning team consisted of: Elainee Sears, Beth Jones, Alex Belakovskiy, Greg Shumer, Marie Claire O’Dwyer, Arrice Shipley, Kate Hughey, Preston Zacharias, Andrea Murawa, Heather Burrows, Alli Ruff, and student representatives Anna Harmeling and Carly Martin.
Jess Fealy from Pediatrics and Alli Ruff from Internal Medicine made up the overall leadership team.
Faculty and fellows who led student projects include:
- Family Medicine: Mike McKee (2 projects!), Alex Belakovskiy, Nicoll Capizzano, Tammy Chang, Laurie Buis, Greg Shumer, Rosa Reyes.
- Internal Medicine: Eric Walford
- Med-Peds: Arielle Schaffer-White and Jessica Hoffman
The poster judging team was included Joe Zickafoose from Pediatrics, Alli Ruff from Internal Medicine, and Meg Dobson from Family Medicine.
In This Story
Margaret L Dobson
Clinical Associate Professor
Tammy Chang, MD, MPH, MS
Associate Professor
Allison LaBoon Ruff, MD, MHPE, FACP
Clinical Professor
Patricia E Poling, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Elizabeth K Jones
Clinical Associate Professor
Alex Belakovskiy
Clinical Assistant Professor
Jess Fealy, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
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