By David Thill
The 32 medical schools in the AMA’s “Accelerating Change in Medical Education” consortium gather to brainstorm how to prepare today’s medical students to be tomorrow’s caregivers
The American Medical Association’s “Accelerating Change in Medical Education” initiative emerged in 2013 from a desire to use the collective efforts of many to change the education of tomorrow’s physicians. Those efforts were palpable in March, when representatives of 32 medical schools – each of which received AMA grants to work as a consortium to rethink medical education in today’s changing world – convened as a group for the first time since the AMA expanded the consortium by 21 schools last fall. The meeting, which took place at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa., highlighted each institution’s initiatives to train physician leaders, improve community health, and encourage students to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their careers.
From physician health to community health
“The work we’re doing together with these 32 medical schools will directly impact the way that healthcare will soon be delivered to patients nationwide,” says Susan E. Skochelak, M.D., MPH, who is AMA’s group vice president for medical education.
“With the support of the AMA … our medical students see healthcare and its challenges not only from the perspective of doctors, but also through the patients’ eyes,” says Therese M. Wolpaw, M.D., Penn State College of Medicine vice dean for educational affairs. With its new Systems Navigation Curriculum (see February 2016 Repertoire), Penn State is one of several schools focusing on improving healthcare systems as a whole and strengthening the bond between all members of the patient’s care team, from physician to care coordinator to family.
Part of this process also involves improving community health. Skochelak says that with their grants, several schools will concentrate on how community members learn about topics such as chronic disease and diabetes prevention. Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (May 2016 Repertoire) is among the schools that seek to raise health awareness and fitness opportunities in communities as a whole. Brody is also among several schools preparing its students to take leadership roles in their future career paths.
Recent developments in medical education have shed light on the importance of student wellness. Mayo Medical School is one of the consortium’s schools “looking for ways to measure [wellness] and teach good habits for lifelong practice,” says Skochelak. Student wellness has become a major focus in medical education because of a continually changing world. “For physicians in practices, it can be difficult to stay on top of changes in medical structure and the healthcare system.” Through work of its own and by funding the schools in its consortium, the AMA hopes to encourage students to begin focusing on the work-life balance early in their education.
The medical school of the future
This year, the AMA introduced its Medical Education Innovation Challenge, and invited students from across the country to submit project proposals in answer to the question, “What does the medical school of the future look like to you?” according to the AMA website. At the March consortium meeting, the AMA announced this year’s winners.
These four winning proposals cover a range of subjects, from creating national electronic databases so that students are not isolated in their respective institutions, to training physicians to be culturally competent and able to address healthcare disparities within communities. (More information, as well as videos highlighting each of the four winners, can be found at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/ama-wire/post/students-selected-top-ideas-turn-med-ed-its-head.)
“Medical students are not passive consumers of their education,” Skochelak says, referring to the Innovation Award Challenge. “They have great ideas about how [education] can be better.”
Now that the meeting has concluded, she says, the AMA and its consortium schools will continue to collaborate, “to prepare tomorrow’s physicians to be equipped to quickly adapt to the changing healthcare landscape and make a significant impact on the way healthcare is delivered.”
David Thill is a contributing editor for Repertoire.