The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) at Florida Atlantic University implemented a new four year medical curriculum when it welcomed its first-year students in August. With support from a grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Josiah Macy Foundation, one of the major areas of focus of the UMMSM at FAU curriculum is the care of patients with chronic diseases in ambulatory settings. This focus on chronic illness is critical to better prepare tomorrows physicians to care for the chronically ill patients who constitute a growing percentage of most physicians practices and who receive treatment in community-based, out-patient settings, rather than in hospitals, where most clinical medical education has traditionally been located.
The UMMSM at FAU is one of 10 U.S. medical schools to receive the grant. These grants are to be used to redesign medical school curricula and residency training programs to incorporate a contemporary approach to understanding and treating chronic illnesses. The initial $125,000 grant was used to assist in the design of the new four-year UMMSM at FAU regional medical campus curriculum. Another $50,000 grant was used to finalize planning for regional campus clinical clerkships that incorporate a contemporary approach to understanding and treating chronic diseases. “Being selected for this highly competitive grant is indicative of the growing national recognition of the FAU regional medical campus as a place where exciting innovations in medical education and residency training are being designed,” said Michael L. Friedland, M.D., regional dean of the UMMSM at FAU. “As a result of this grant, we are better equipped to teach tomorrows doctors about chronic illness, so they can provide the best care for their future patients.” The new four-year medical program engages students in early and intensive exposure to patients via the practices of community physicians, who serve as preceptors for the regional medical campus, and weekly visits to the Florida Department of Health. Medical students are assigned a panel of patients to follow over the course of their four years of medical school. Also, each student is assigned to a clinician faculty mentor who works collaboratively with them. The required coursework is arranged to allow students extended opportunities to pursue specialized areas of study and dual degrees, including a masters degree in public health or business administration, or certificates of achievement in biomedical research. The new medical curriculum also differs from more traditional medical school programs by providing a smaller, more personal and interactive learning environment organized around communities of approximately eight students who share and learn from each others patients and clinical experience. It is hoped that this type of environment will foster graduates ability to function as effective and collaborative members of the teams of physicians and other health care professionals who provide much of the care to chronically ill patients. “The new curriculum improves both the quality and level of care to patients,” said Daniel Lichtstein, M.D., associate dean for medical education at the UMMSM at FAU. “The benefit of introducing students to their medical education in this manner allows them to understand that there is much more to being a physician than the learning of basic science and medical facts.” The grant was also used to support the development of a chronic illness and care component to be integrated into the proposed internal medicine residency program at JFK Medical Center and the West Palm Beach V.A. Medical Center. New residency programs will support the medical education mission of UMMSM at FAU and will enable medical students to remain in the region for residency training.