Med schools adjusting to millennial students

Educators look for ways to build on new scholars' perceived strengths in technology, optimism and team-building.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. Jan. 14, 2008.

The millennial generation is a big topic among those who teach medical school as they seek to shape an educational experience that meshes with this group's particular characteristics and learning styles.

"This is a new generation of students," said Michael Kavan, PhD, national vice chair of the Assn. of American Medical Colleges' group on student affairs and associate student affairs dean at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb. "How do we interact with them? How do we help guide them? There's a lot of talk about it but not a lot of guidance."

Born between 1982 and 2002, population theorists describe millennials as optimistic, self-confident, collaborative and team-oriented, technologically savvy and interested in improving their communities.

Some characteristics, such as their comfort with collaboration, have speeded the adoption of new teaching models. Other forces are driving change, such as technology, with students pressing for wireless Internet access and downloadable lectures.

Though medical educators do not have definitive answers on how best to structure medical education for this latest student population, they are actively investing in a variety of approaches.

Collaborative learning is one of them. Exposed to group projects in high school and college, medical students appear to be primed for learning strategies that incorporate teamwork, medical educators said. Used to having each individual's achievements celebrated, they are drawn to more cooperative atmospheres rather than the traditional, individually competitive environment.