News for Academic Physicians

AMA working to accelerate change in medical education

As part of the AMA's new strategic direction, the AMA is working to accelerate change in medical education by focusing on the following:

• Partnerships that create, implement and evaluate new methods of medical student education
• Focused attention on flexibility, individualized and social learning, achievement of competencies, and professionalism in physician education
• Working to provide exemplary methods to achieve patient safety, performance improvement and patient centered-team care in medical training.

Read more in the July issue of AMA MedEd Update. Other headlines in this edition include:

• AMA takes action on MedEd issues at Annual Meeting
• Desire for online CME is high
• By 2020, 5.6 million more health care professionals needed

Sign up today to begin receiving this monthly e-newsletter.

Education leaders sought for key staff openings

As the AMA sharpens its focus on accelerating change in medical education, part of its new strategic direction, the association is seeking highly qualified candidates to fill three executive-level staff positions.

The associate director of the Division of Undergraduate Medical Education provides leadership to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), including directing the process of medical schools evaluation, managing the creation of LCME policies and consulting with medical school leadership during the accreditation process. A doctoral degree is required to qualify for this position; a medical degree is preferred. Learn more and apply today.

The vice president of medical education programs leads the staff supporting the AMA Council on Medical Education and AMA Section on Medical Schools. The person in this position will provide guidance and information on medical education policy or programs to AMA leadership, including the AMA Board of Trustees. A medical degree is required to qualify for this role and additional graduate training, such as a doctorate or master's in business administraton, is preferred. Learn more and apply today.

The vice president of educational outcomes provides oversight of all operational, programmatic and administrative activities related to the AMA's objective of strategically transforming undergraduate medical education. A doctoral degree in medicine, education or a related health care field is required to qualify for this position. Learn more and apply today.

Register for teleconference on ACGME Next Accreditation System

An audio conference at 1 p.m. Eastern time Aug. 14 will cover what physicians can expect with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) next accreditation system.

Hosted by the Association for Hospital Medical Education, the teleconference will discuss what programs can do now to prepare for the new system and explain the new accreditation process. ACGME executives Louis Ling, MD, and Timothy Brigham, MD, will present. Register today.

Quotable: Ensuring a culture of respect in medicine

"A substantial barrier to progress in patient safety is a dysfunctional culture rooted in widespread disrespect," Lucian L. Leape, MD, and colleagues wrote in an article published in the July 2012 issue of Academic Medicine.

"Disrespect is a threat to patient safety because it inhibits collegiality and cooperation essential to teamwork, cuts off communication, undermines morale, and inhibits compliance with and implementation of new practices," they wrote. "Nurses and students are particularly at risk, but disrespectful treatment is also devastating for patients."

The article, "A Culture of Respect, Part 1: The Nature and Causes of Disrespectful Behavior by Physicians," was published alongside a companion piece, "A Culture of Respect, Part 2: Creating a Culture of Respect."