Medical Education

Michael Reichgott, M.D., Chair
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

MISSION
To promote excellence in medical education through collaboration in developing educational methods, devising assessment techniques and sponsoring research initiatives.

BACKGROUND
The Medical Education Committee is a standing committee of AMSNY which meets monthly to address issues that concern the NYS medical schools. Medical education in NYS has a profound influence on the education of physicians and on the state economy. Approximately $1 billion in research grants are brought into NYS each year with an economic impact of over $66 billion/yearly in jobs, construction, tax revenues and new business development. Academic medical infrastructure generates more than 459,000 jobs statewide. The following program abstracts describe AMSNY activities in medical education. The role of AMSNY as a coordinating body is both efficient and effective in a period of diminished resources.

INITIATIVES
Teaching and Assessing Professionalism in NYS Medical Schools
More recently, the committee has been involved with the Professionalism Project, its most important program to date. The goal of this program is to improve teaching and assessment of professionalism throughout the 15 medical schools in NYS. In December 2005, AMSNY hosted its first Professionalism Conference at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. This conference provided a forum for collaboration in development of “best practice models” for the definition, teaching and evaluation of professionalism in undergraduate medical education. Planning is ongoing for a follow-up conference in 2007.

Physician Workforce Shortage
New York State is facing a physician shortage due to a change in the supply of and demand for physicians. It will peak in 2020, when the “baby-boom” generation will have reached retirement age. Factors predicting this shortage include:

• The growing number of people over age 65;
• The retirement by 2020 of one-third of active physicians;
• Flat medical school enrollment from 1980-2005.

In response to the Association of American Medical Colleges call for a 30% increase in production of physicians by 2020, AMSNY will develop a statewide, comprehensive program to combat the problem of attracting and retaining physicians in underserved areas. This program will be comprised of individual modules that embody best practices in specific areas, eg: pipeline programs; the components of a targeted admissions process; and a debt relief program. The long term implementation of the plan is expected to provide improved access to healthcare in underserved areas of NYS.

Institute for Medical Education
The educational mission of medical schools involves curriculum development, evaluation of programs, and the preparation of faculty and residents for their roles as teachers. Nonetheless, in many institutions the educational mission receives far less recognition and support than research or patient care, and as a result, faculty may have inadequate preparation for their role as educators.

Medical schools have begun to respond to problems with initiatives that are designed to improve the status and role of faculty education. The last 15 years has seen the development and growth of academies – independent organizational bodies that are dedicated to education. Several medical schools have developed comprehensive faculty development programs. They are designed to help faculty educators develop a deeper understanding about learning and the theories underpinning education and to renew and/or gain new skills.

The AMSNY Institute for Medical Education combines elements of existing academies and comprehensive faculty development programs. Through the Institute, the NYS medical schools will be able to combine resources to create a convenient, cost effective and stable educational home which will strengthen and amplify the skills and effectiveness of educators at the schools while decreasing the burden on individual medical schools to provide this resource in their own environment. AMSNY promotes curriculum improvement, advance educational scholarship, and faculty protected time for educational work.

Clinical Skills Remediation
The Medical Education Committee is the parent committee for the Clinical Skills Consortium. The Consortium has developed a case bank to be utilized by AMSNY member institutions and is working to create a state-wide clinical skills remediation program.

The Education committee was the focal point for discussions with the National Board of Medical Education (NBME) about establishing a 6th clinical skills testing center located in New York City. These discussions as well as focus groups concerning the restructuring of the USMLE tests are still underway.

Remediation for Returning Physicians
The committee has met with the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) on two projects:

• Faculty development for clinical preceptors in the community
• Improving workforce distribution and remediation