Overview of recent literature on undergraduate ambulatory care education and a framework for future planning.

This study provides an interpretive overview of ambulatory care undergraduate education from 1979 to 1991 and identifies two major problems for medical education: (1) the difficulties inherent in the transfer of educational techniques from the hospital to the ambulatory care setting; and (2) the misuse of and lack of agreement on definitions of ambulatory care, primary care, and community-oriented primary care. The authors distinguish various types of ambulatory care and examine factors that differentiate ambulatory care and hospital sites for educating medical students, including the setting, program management, curriculum issues, evaluation, cost, faculty time, and space. Based on concepts and issues identified in the study, the authors propose a framework for planning future ambulatory care education and research.