Abstract | April 14, 2023

Integrating A Student Co-Created Health Systems Science Curriculum Within UME

Britton Ethridge, BSN

Michael Steadman, BS, Osteopathic Medical Student, 2nd Year (OMS-2), Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, AL; Benjamin Crews, BS, Osteopathic Medical Student, 2nd Year (OMS-2), Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, AL

Learning Objectives

  1. Present Health Systems Science as the “third pillar of medical education” and as a necessary component of current osteopathic medical education.
  2. Introduce our unique development of a systems-based Health Systems Science learning model co-created with medical students at our institution.
  3. Discuss the benefits of involving select medical students in curricular revision – to the benefit of the medical college, as well as to the students involved.

Background: It has become increasingly evident that the professional demands on the modern physician are different than is served by current educational paradigms focusing on the basic and clinical sciences. These gaps in training must be met through the adoption of the new “third pillar” of medical education – Health System Science (HSS). HSS is the study of how healthcare is delivered, how healthcare professionals work together to deliver that care, and how the health system can improve patient care and healthcare delivery. When considering that osteopathic medical students comprise nearly two-thirds (63%) of US medical students and that 56% of osteopathic graduates enter primary care, it is clear that osteopathic UME serves a foundational role in ensuring the quality and efficiency of healthcare in the US. Objective:

Describe the development and ongoing implementation of a student-co-created, four-semester, HSS-based learning model into the UME curriculum. We also seek to describe the benefits of allowing current medical students to participate in curricular changes that benefit both the participating students and the COM.

Approach:

Using a systems-based hybrid lecture-experiential model, students will progress through the eleven domains of the HSS discipline. Each domain contains learning objectives mapped to the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) Master Blueprint and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Core Competencies documents, which served as the framework for this project. Content will be delivered by field experts within each domain such as COM faculty, physicians, administrators, and leaders from our affiliated hospital system and the local community.

Conclusion:

This curriculum maps to nearly two-thirds of core competencies within the NBOME Master Blueprint and AACOM Core Competencies documents. A critical piece to our success was involving faculty in the development of the proposal which helped to foster a unified vision and sense of ownership for curricular change. Time management strategies were also important in this project’s execution, as this endeavor was taken on in addition to the required duties of students and faculty. We believe that our proposal is the first of its kind in presenting an HSS curriculum.

 

References

AMA Education Consortium. (2021). In S. E. Skochelak, M. H. Hammond, & K. D. Lomis, Health Systems Science. Elsevier.

UME Curriculum Design. (2022, November). Retrieved from AMA: https://www.ama-assn.org/topics/ume-curriculum-design




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