Building a Primary Care Pipeline with Purpose
Posted on May 21, 2026 by Michelle Ryan-Day
The success of the Primary Care Pathway (PCP) at the University of South Alabama Whiddon College of Medicine reflects a sustained effort to build a physician workforce committed to primary care in rural and underserved communities across Alabama.
Supported through funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the program is a longitudinal, four-year curriculum that immerses medical students in community-based primary care training while strengthening clinical skills, leadership development and commitment to health equity.
To date, six groups of students have completed the medical school portion of the program as PCP Scholars, remaining together as a structured learning community from matriculation through graduation. The model emphasizes continuity, with students returning to the same community-based clinical sites over multiple years to build lasting relationships with patients, faculty and health systems.
For Allen Perkins, M.D., professor of family medicine at the Whiddon College of Medicine, that continuity is central to the program鈥檚 mission.
鈥淭he Pathway is still a work in progress,鈥� Perkins said. 鈥淲hat we have demonstrated is that it is possible to create sites outside of the academic health center that provide meaningful experiences to students that, we hope, provide a lifelong impact.鈥�
That impact is increasingly reflected in the program鈥檚 outcomes. More than 80% of the program's graduates have entered primary care residencies, with this year鈥檚 cohort achieving a record-setting 100% primary care match rate.
Perkins attributes much of that success to the structure of the program.
鈥淚 think the Pathway is designed to provide a growth ladder and a support system for the students, allowing them to develop a professional identity,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he students seem to use this and identify as primary care doctors for their site early in the learning process.鈥�
Unlike traditional medical education models, PCP students train longitudinally within Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), where they gain hands-on experience caring for underserved populations while also participating in quality improvement and population health initiatives.
鈥淭he students express a connection with these patients that I do not see in our general student body,鈥� Perkins said. 鈥淭hey develop projects specific for their sites to improve the care delivered in these locations.鈥�
A hallmark of the curriculum is the Summer Quality Improvement initiative, which pairs students directly with FQHCs to analyze outcomes using uniform data system metrics and implementing projects designed to improve patient care and clinic performance. The work has earned national recognition and is now being presented at major academic meetings.
The experience also broadens students鈥� understanding of health beyond clinical diagnoses alone.
鈥淭hey develop knowledge of the services available to the patients who attend their site and use this knowledge to solve problems such as food and housing insecurity that other students often don鈥檛 even consider as a medical problem,鈥� Perkins said. 鈥淭his allows them to develop a much fuller concept of disease than their peers in the general student population.鈥�
For Jay Barnes, M.D., a 2024 graduate of the Whiddon College of Medicine, those lessons became deeply personal during his training in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, a coastal fishing community where access to care can be limited and patient needs often extend far beyond the exam room.
鈥淐linically, rural medicine demanded a broader scope and a different mindset,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 always have immediate access to subspecialists or advanced diagnostics. That meant leaning into full-spectrum family medicine 鈥� managing complex chronic disease, stabilizing acute issues, addressing behavioral health concerns, and often coordinating care across long distances.鈥�
The experience sharpened his clinical judgment while reinforcing the importance of practicing at the top of his training. It also highlighted how social determinants of health directly shape patient outcomes in rural communities.
鈥淭ransportation barriers, seasonal employment tied to fishing, limited insurance coverage and hospital closures weren鈥檛 abstract concepts,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey directly shaped whether patients could follow up, afford medications, or even make it to an appointment.鈥�
Barnes said many of those realities mirrored what he witnessed growing up in Evergreen, Alabama.
鈥淎s a black male in the rural town of Evergreen, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the disparities between those few with access to resources and the many who did not,鈥� he said. 鈥淗owever, I also witnessed how resilient those people were and how they truly never viewed themselves as disadvantaged.鈥�
That upbringing shaped how he views his role as a future family physician.
鈥淚 learned that showing up consistently, listening first, and respecting people鈥檚 way of life mattered just as much as any treatment plan,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淎s a future family physician, I am determined to address healthcare disparities, advocate for underserved populations, and deliver compassionate, patient-centered care.鈥�
Another 2024 graduate, TiAriel Anderson, M.D., is now a second-year resident in family medicine and hopes to practice in the same Mobile neighborhood where she was raised. Anderson grew up less than a mile from the underserved community where her residency program is now based 鈥� an area marked by severe poverty and significant healthcare access challenges.
She completed her clinical training at the Franklin Primary Care Medical Mall in downtown Mobile, where the Primary Care Pathway helped deepen her commitment to neighborhood-based care and community relationships.
The program has also expanded opportunities for students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds through a post-baccalaureate 鈥渆xcellence path鈥� program housed within the USA Covey School of Allied Health Professions.
Among its earliest success stories is Meridith Shaddix, a member of the Poarch Creek Tribe who grew up in Atmore, Alabama. Shaddix sought out the program, in part, because of its emphasis on community-based primary care fieldwork. A graduate of the program鈥檚 inaugural post-baccalaureate cohort, she is now a first-year medical student at the VCOM-Auburn campus.
The program鈥檚 influence extends beyond undergraduate medical education. Through sustained partnerships with community sites, three FQHCs now serve as longitudinal training hubs, and two have developed family medicine residency programs since the initiative began 鈥� including the USA program at Accordia Health and the Franklin program in downtown Mobile. Together, the sites now train 10 residents annually in underserved settings.
鈥淚f someone takes advantage of the full program offerings, it will be possible for a motivated learner to have spent eight years serving the underserved in Mobile prior to going into practice,鈥� Perkins said.
Early outcomes have been promising, with students from the first cohort gaining admission to medical school after previous unsuccessful application attempts. The initiative was also highlighted at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.
Perkins believes the long-term impact of the PCP model will extend well beyond education.
鈥淚t is my hope that following this experience, the number of physicians working with the underserved in Mobile will be enhanced both by the learners while in training as well as by helping to provide stability to the physician faculty at these sites,鈥� he said.
The momentum continues to grow. The HRSA recently awarded USA an additional $1 million grant to expand nutrition education throughout the medical school curriculum. The funding will support instruction in 鈥渇ood as medicine鈥� and train students to identify and address food insecurity through simulated patient experiences.
鈥淚n this way,鈥� Perkins said, 鈥渨e can provide instruction for all students, not just the Pathway students.鈥�