Educating future physicians

Behavioral and social sciences play an important role in educating future physicians, according to a new report from the AAMC. The report explains how physicians can apply concepts from these disciplines in clinical care to improve individual and public health. The report builds upon previous work to offer educators competency frameworks, methods for evaluating professional behaviors, educational strategies, and performance outcomes. The expert panel that developed the report was chaired by Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D., of Columbia and a past chair of the AAMC Council of Academic Societies. The report has informed the recommendations of the MCAT review panel and complements the AAMC-HHMI report, the "Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians.http://tinyurl.com/87k8zta
http://www.hhmi.org/grants/pdf/08-209_AAMC-HHMI_report.pdf

Medical student wellness at Vanderbilt: "A Medical School More Like Hogwarts"

Dr. Pauline Chen authored a New York Times web posting on Thursday titled, "A Medical School More Like Hogwarts." The article discussed medical student wellness programs, highlighting initiatives taken by Vanderbilt. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/a-medical-school-more-like-hogwarts/?ref=health

Cost of medical education

The College Board last week released its 2011 Trends in College Pricing. In the section on institutional finances, the report found, "State appropriations per full-time equivalent (FTE) student declined by 9% in inflation-adjusted dollars between 2007-08 and 2008-09, by 6% in 2009-10, and by 4% in 2010-11. Average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges rose by 9% beyond inflation in 2009-10 and by 7% in 2010-11." The College Board also reported, "The 18% real decline in state appropriations per FTE student from 2007-08 to 2010-11 was the largest three-year decline in the 30 years" of data reporting.http://trends.collegeboard.org/college_pricing/

AAMC 2011 question: "What improvements in medical education will lead to better health for individuals and populations?"

The November issue of Academic Medicine is now available. This issue is being made available on-line to both subscribers and non-subscribers alike. The issue contains essays responding to the editor's 2011 question of the year, "What improvements in medical education will lead to better health for individuals and populations?" The issue also includes articles relating to translating research to personalized medicine, leveraging the health care workforce, and improving the recruitment of participants in clinical trials.http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/pages/default.aspx

AAMC announced Foundations of AAMC History online exhibit

The Mary H. Littlemeyer Archives, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), has announced that its digital collection Foundations of AAMC History, is now available at http://www.aamc.org/about/history/foundations.  This digital collection includes AAMC proceedings, position statements, member institutions's course catalogs, association bylaws and constitutions, and other historical documents that describe the early history of the association.

USMLE Study Tool available online

New Online USMLE Study Tool Available

 

USMLEasy is a new online tool made possible by the Center of Excellence - Office of Cultural Enhancement and Diversity. It provides a practice test-taking environment with over 8,450 USMLE questions from the renown McGraw-Hill test preparation books "PreTest(tm) and Lange(tm) Q&A. Optimize your study time for USMLE Step 1, 2CK, or 3 by targeting various organ systems, disciplines, or subspecialities; or take a simulated USMLE exam. A robust performance profile tracks your progress over time. The system even suggests targeted remediation based on test results and links to selected readings from within AccessMedicine.  Many other features are available to help you customize your study path for the USMLE, or to simply supplement your course studies.

 

USMLEasy is available inside AccessMedicine, a database available through Dykes Library. First time users will be prompted to set up a free account. Please contact the library if you have any questions getting started.

AAMC provides resources for working with students who have disabilities

The AAMC has released a new publication that provides medical educators with resources to work with students who have disabilities. The book reflects a more current view of what constitutes a disability and provides practical guidance on how to assist medical students from admission to graduation. http://tinyurl.com/2ep426z