UConn School of Medicine was one of 20 medical schools selected today by the American Medical Association (AMA) to join its Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium to reshape the medical education of the future by sharing their innovations with other schools around the country.
“UConn is thrilled to become a new member of the prestigious consortium and leading the evolution of medical education,” said Bruce T. Liang, dean of UConn School of Medicine.
As a new member of the 31 medical school consortium, UConn School of Medicine will receive $75,000 from the AMA during the next 3 years. The funding will support UConn’s new project to enhance medical education through the teaching of electronic medical records (EMR). EMR technology is an accessible software database physicians often use to manage a patient’s medical history, coordinate clinical care, and share information with other medical providers.
UConn medical students will meet required competencies working with anonymous EMRs of diverse patient families. Working with the EMRs of real patients will allow medical students to learn how to use the technology, meet specific objectives, and also prioritize and assess relevant health information.
“In our growing digital age health care delivery is rapidly changing,” says Suzanne Rose, senior associate dean for education at UConn School of Medicine, and the principal investigator. “It is critical that all medical students have exposure to integrated electronic medical records which are becoming federally mandated in the future for all physicians.”
This EMR learning-based initiative will also involve students of UConn’s School of Dental Medicine and other interprofessional UConn school partners.
The AMA launched its Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium in 2013 to bridge the gaps that exist between how medical students are trained and how health care is delivered.
UConn School of Medicine and other schools were selected through a competitive grant process. Schools were selected from among 170 eligible U.S. medical schools by a national advisory panel which sought proposals that would significantly redesign medical education.
“Our goal throughout this initiative has been to spread the robust work being done by our consortium to accelerate systemic change throughout medical education,” said James L. Madara, chief executive officer of the AMA.
“Together, the schools will collectively work to quickly identify and widely share the best models for educational change to ensure future physicians are prepared for a lifetime of learning, to lead a team of professionals in delivering care and to explore innovative ways to care for patients, populations and communities in the evolving health care system,” said Susan E. Skochelak, group vice president for medical education at the AMA.
The list of newly selected schools, along with short descriptions of each school’s project, can be found online at www.changemeded.org.
