PRR Program Marks Milestone With 150 Graduates

Physician Retraining and Reentry, Inc., a San Diego-based program that educates and trains physicians to practice as primary care doctors, is pleased to announce it has graduated its 150th physician. Each PRR graduate brings communities one step closer to having their medical needs met — which is critical because of the nationwide physician shortage.

“I am proud to see the difference PRR graduates are making by providing primary care services in a variety of much-needed places, from overcrowded cities to rural areas,” said Dr. David Bazzo, PRR’s chief medical officer and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine’s Interim Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health and a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine.

Dr. Bharathi Gowda, one of the most recent PRR graduates, said she enrolled in PRR after she closed her ob/gyn practice. The Maryland physician wants to continue to practice medicine and make a difference in the community, but she realized she was at a point in her career where she didn’t want the stress of running her own practice.

“Without PRR, I never would have imagined myself in another medical field – general practice – which is the field I wanted to be in and which was very different than my long-time ob/gyn practice,” Gowda said. “The PRR program allows me to help patients and continue my new field of medicine. The online course is set up beautifully. It all went so smoothly. I could not imagine doing this any other way.”

PRR’s educational program consists of 15 online modules that cover a wide range of critical subject matter, such as cardiology, dermatology, medical record management and more. At the end is a final examination and a one-day, in-person practicum. Upon completion, graduates receive 180 AMA PRA Category 1™ credits from the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a Certificate of Completion from PRR.

The program to re-educate, transition and return experienced physicians to practice as primary care doctors was developed about 10 years ago by Dr. Leonard Glass, a former UC San Diego School of Medicine professor. Within a few years, PRR partnered with UC San Diego School of Medicine Physician Assessment and Clinical Education Program faculty who were also concerned with the physician shortage crisis in the U.S. UC San Diego’s PACE program is a nationally renowned program used by state medical boards and medical facilities to evaluate physicians and their abilities and to remediate deficiencies.

Earlier this year, PRR announced it entered a growth investment and partnership with Teal Ventures, a leading digital healthcare venture capital firm. The partnership with Teal allows PRR to grow its online educational program.

PRR is the only physician retraining program that focuses on preparing long-tenured physicians to return to medicine. PRR graduates fill shortages at clinics and other facilities and are especially valuable in underserved communities that lack access to qualified doctors. During times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, PRR’s graduates serve on the medical frontlines and provide much-needed care. Because the course is online, physicians anywhere in the U.S. can participate.