August 31, 2022

Medical education, especially in human medicine colleges, is increasingly focused on patient-centered outcomes in student training, but more research focused on patient-centered outcomes is needed.

This is the findings of a review of the medical education literature co-authored by Matthew Emery, MD, Medical Director of Simulation at the College of Human Medicine.

Emery said he was not surprised by the finding, but added: Having been at the forefront of education and clinical research, we know that students and patients would benefit from more research in medical education focused on patient-centered outcomes. “

He and a team of medical professional educators replicated an earlier study conducted in 2001. In that earlier study, he reviewed studies published in three major medical education journals and found that less than 1% evaluated patient-centered outcomes. Between these two studies of his, the College of Human Medicine adopted his Shared Discovery Curriculum (SDC).

“When we replicated that study almost 20 years later, the results were essentially the same,” said Emery, adding that the review he contributed showed that educational interventions ultimately produced more effective physicians. He added that it points to the need for more research.

“Given the available evidence, I think the College of Human Medicine has made an excellent choice in trying to apply what is already known. If you think about it, what will medical education look like?” was to operationalize. “

Based on preliminary data and feedback from residency program directors, the new approach appears suitable for preparing medical graduates for patient care, but more research is needed to draw conclusions, he said. I was.

Examples of patient-centered outcomes include how effectively providers communicate with simulated and real patients, how comfortable patients feel when talking to them, Measures such as adherence to recommendations and whether cholesterol levels improve after meeting with a health care provider may be included. future doctor.

One reason for the lack of research, Emery said, is the lack of funding for medical education research. Another reason for his is the significant time lag (7–10 years) from early medical school experience to becoming an independent practitioner, which introduces a large number of confounding variables.

“Given the amount of resources we spend on educating the health professions and the importance of the work these students will later do, it is important to ensure that we are allocating resources appropriately and that our graduating students are doing the work patients need. ,” he said.