2014's top moments in medical education

The past year was jam-packed with major events in medical education. Take a look back at six news-making medical education topics:

1. The AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative. The project to transform medical education made huge steps forward, bringing 11 medical schools together to change the way tomorrow’s physicians are educated. The schools are working on things like competency-based assessment, incorporating systems-based practice and team-based care teachings into curriculum, and focusing on diversity and health care disparities. Using new techniques and technologies, the schools hope to create adaptive, lifelong learners. After introducing new curricula, teaching methods and assessments, the schools are looking to expand their reach into 2015. Read more about the many facets of work these schools are doing at AMA Wire®.
2. Single accreditation system for GME. The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) House of Delegates in July voted to align with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), shifting to a single GME accreditation system that in the past largely followed separate paths. With the recently confirmed agreement between the AOA, ACGME and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine to move osteopathic GME accreditation in line with ACGME accreditation, all U.S. medical school graduates will be eligible for all residency positions, whether they hold an MD or DO degree.
3. The 2014 Match. Nearly 6 percent of U.S. allopathic medical school seniors weren’t matched into first-year residency programs during this year’s Match. Meanwhile, Match rates rose modestly for all major applicant groups. Fourth-year medical students shared their emotions during the Match process—before, during and after Match week—to give future medical school grads hope for their own Match seasons.
4. Report on GME financing. The Institute of Medicine released a report in July, which called for the current GME financing system to be transitioned to a transparent, performance-based system. Although the report did not address increasing the number of residency slots, it did make recommendations for a decade-long overhaul, including rebuilding the GME policy and financing infrastructure and modernizing GME payment methodology.
5. Maintenance of certification (MOC). In June, the AMA and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) convened a special meeting with stakeholders to facilitate conversation on Part III of the MOC process. The meeting signaled to physicians that the ABMS is open to hearing new ideas and innovations surrounding the MOC process. At its 2014 Interim Meeting in November, physicians voted to update the AMA’s policy on MOC, outlining principles that include a need for an evidence-based process that’s relevant to clinical practice.
6. The Physician Payment Sunshine Act. With the release of the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule Oct. 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made it official: funding for independent continuing medical education (CME) will not be subject to reporting under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act as initially proposed by the agency earlier this summer.