Expanding innovation from undergraduate to graduate medical education: A path of continuous professional development

Abstract

A hundred years after the Flexner report laid the foundation for modern medical education, a number of authors commemorated the occasion by commenting on how the medical education system had to change once more to serve 21st century patients. Experts called for standardized outcomes and individualized learner pathways, integration of material across traditional areas, attention to an environment of inquiry, and professional identity formation. The medical education community responded and much has been achieved in the last decade, but much work remains to be done. In this paper we outline how the American Medical Association Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium, launched in 2013 through significant funding of transformation projects in undergraduate medical education, expanded its work into graduate medical education, and we look to the future of innovation in medical education.

Keywords:

• Graduate medical education
• competency-based medical education
• work force
• health systems science
• learning environment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank their home institutions, fellow members of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium, and the AMA for their support of innovation.

The AMA Supplement is sponsored and supported by The American Medical Association.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect American Medical Association policy.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded in part by the American Medical Association.

Notes on contributors

John S. Andrews

John S. Andrews, MD, Medical Education Outcomes American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA.

Kimberly D. Lomis

Kimberly D. Lomis, MD, Medical Education Outcomes American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA.

Judee A. Richardson

Judee A. Richardson, PhD, Medical Education Outcomes American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA.

Maya M. Hammoud

Maya M. Hammoud, MD, MBA, Medical Education Outcomes American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA.

Susan E. Skochelak

Susan E. Skochelak, MD, MPH, Medical Education Outcomes American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA.