AMA Adopts Policy on Medical School of the Future

CHICAGO — The American Medical Assoc. (AMA) recently adopted a new policy to further its strategic efforts to close the gaps that exist in how medical students are trained to deliver high-quality care and improve outcomes in the changing healthcare environment.

Building on the AMA’s innovative Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative to create the medical school of the future, the new policy calls for the creation of leadership programs and new curricula that emphasize experiential and active learning models that include knowledge, skills, and management techniques integral to leading interprofessional team care. The policy also calls for all medical students to receive this leadership training early in their medical education.

“As our healthcare system continues to evolve, medical schools must do more than simply prepare young doctors to care for patients — they must prepare them to take leadership roles in their practices,” said AMA board member Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld. “The new policies … will further our mission to create the medical school of the future by ensuring future physicians are prepared to quickly adapt to the changing healthcare landscape and provide care to patients, populations, and communities as soon as they enter practice.”

The new policy also encourages medical students and residents to work alongside community health workers as part of the physician-led team to gain valuable insight about how cultural competency can improve the delivery of care for patients with chronic diseases. Currently, chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and account for nearly 90{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of all healthcare spending in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of its work to improve the health of the nation, the AMA is committed to preventing two of the nation’s most debilitating chronic diseases, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.