Medical College of the Future: from Informative to Transformative

Abstract

The complexity of medical education and healthcare systems is a ‘wicked problem’. Change will be a continuous iteration between evaluation and revaluation. Medicine is a social science. It is about people, societies and human interaction and communication. Medical College of the future should be developed in the light of social constructivism theories. Students from year one, day one, should be embedded in the work environment. Academic Healthcare Systems will be the norm not the exceptional. The training of students will be in all healthcare related facilities in the community. Public-private partnership in education and research will spread and become more regulated and encouraged. The students who want to be the future physicians should be selected differently. The curriculum will be more context related. Entrustable professional activities will be measured more frequently at different points of the students learning trajectory. Research and innovation will be integral to the students' learning experience. They should be exposed to how researchers think and behave and be embedded in a research environment. The medical college of the future will be using advanced technology which will be disruptive and transform existing educational models. E-Learning materials will be shared by consortia of collaborating medical colleges from all around the world. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will influence how students learn. National and international accreditation systems should ensure quality, but not stifle innovation. Physical learning spaces should reflect and express the underlying assumptions about “what is learning and teaching?”. This should be reflected and expressed through the design of its buildings, infrastructure, technology, furniture and out of class learning environment. Predicting the future is difficult in a rapidly changing world. Next generation physicians should be competent in treating the next generation of patients while maintaining the health of the population.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributor

Hossam Hamdy, MBCHB, FRCSEd, PhD, is Professor of Pediatric Surgery & Medical Education and Chancellor, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.