( continued from page 29 ) and machine learning into various business and economic ventures , and the increasing popularity of cutting-edge technologies like augmented and virtual reality , make it possible to access information and resources anytime and anywhere . Medicine should be at the forefront of modern society ; it is a tool that has the power to alleviate the issues we face and to enhance our quality of life at every level . For medicine to continue advancing our lived experiences , all members of the medical field — students included — should embrace an expansive , rather than complacent , mindset .
Current medical school models largely emphasize the importance of avoiding failure . The predominant goal of years one and two in medical school is to develop a broad-based foundation of medical knowledge through hours of lecture . What U . S . medical students are taught is exactly dictated by the National Board of Medical Examiners , as this entity determines what is and is not included on the first major medical examination : Step 1 . Then , if successful during the first two years , students are thrown into the clinic . While on clinical rotations , students have opportunities to put into practice what they have spent the past two years studying . Mostly , students are learning how to integrate into teams with set structures and dynamics . During this time , medical students are not challenged to question attending physicians ’ actions or think of different ways to approach clinical dilemmas . In fact , all medical graduates can attest to moments throughout their third-year clerkships where their sole goal is to remain under the radar , to not get in the way of the attending physician , and to avoid presenting a potential embarrassing question or remark . Unfortunately , the system has been like this for years . Practicing physicians , young and old , graduated from medical schools that largely mimic current medical school curriculums across the nation . Tradition lives on !
Let us pause for a moment : this is not to say that there is no value in the rigid nature of medical education . Nor is this an argument for a total overhaul of the present system . Students should be required to sit for and successfully pass national board examinations as this presents an opportunity to perform under pressure and apply what they have learned . Students should be paired with veterans in the field and should work to understand how senior physicians think about medical complexities and cater treatments to their patients . Undoubtedly , with years of practice and experience comes wisdom , so mature and accomplished mentor-physicians have the potential to expand students ’ knowledge beyond that of a textbook . However , just as we promote traditional models of education and fundamental medical teachings , we must also prioritize innovation , which is something many institutions are failing to do . To begin , transitioning from a passive to active learning experience is necessary : instead of traditional lecture-style learning where students are taught pathophysiology and disease presentation / treatment , they should be challenged to apply learned principles and anticipate medical interventions based on their knowledge . Not only does this approach present an opportunity for students to critically think about varying pathologies , but it also presents an outlet for creative thinking in the setting of mainstream medical education . Moreover , research opportunities should be thoroughly integrated into the medical school curriculum rather than sought after as extracurricular activities . When correlated with the classroom , research takes on a whole new meaning , and students can further apply and re-analyze what they are learning in a real-life medical setting . Finally , promoting experiences that allow students to collaborate across institutions , departments and / or classes could be of immense benefit . Physicians are constantly challenged to work with multiple professionals from different backgrounds and are required to know more than just medicine in the real world , so replicating this type of environment as early as possible could be tremendously helpful for young students . Such deviations from standard models of education will help develop more physicians diverse in both thought and action . After all , do we want our future physicians to quietly follow suit , or do we want them to push boundaries and challenge mainstream practices to provide more robust care ?
Innovation in health care is the way of the future : it will allow for better care for a larger number of people while working to address previously unapproachable medical complexities . Dr . Roberta Ness , the Director for the Center of Innovation at UT Health in Houston , Texas , agrees that the learning environment can significantly influence innovative abilities . Furthermore , she argues that innovation must be encouraged at the earliest point in one ’ s career . Rather than focusing on traditional ways of educating , we must instead provide students with methods to think outside of the box , to safely practice unfolding new ideas . If we can replace the overwhelming fear of failure with an environment that welcomes collisions of ideas , critical thinking and guided creativity , then we can slowly transition to a culture that fosters innovation . 3 , 4 A prime example of this can be seen in Stanford ’ s Bio-X program , a newfound initiative that supports interdisciplinary research and collaboration with the goal of benefiting human health discoveries . 5 At the University of Louisville , a select cohort of medical students is engaging with faculty physicians and engineering students with the goal of identifying and solving diverse medical problems as part of the Bluegrass Biodesign program . 6 Bluegrass Biodesign pairs a group of pre-clinical and clinical medical students with a physician-mentor in the Departments of Urology , Cardiology , Pulmonology , Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery . Students extensively shadow their mentors , participate in bioinnovation learning modules and conduct research in their respective field with the goal of first identifying an unmet clinical need and then developing an intervention . With the
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