Social Mission

"On today's program, we speak by phone with Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at The George Washington University. Dr. Mullan is one of the co-chairs for a conference called "Beyond Flexner 2012: Social Mission in Medical Education," which will happen next week at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa (at 100 East Second Street), from May 15th through the 17th."

"The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is one of six medical schools in North America under the microscope as part of a U.S.-based study examining new models of medical education for the 21st century."

In 2010, a group led by Fitzhugh Mullan compiled a provocative ranking of medical schools based on a "social mission score." The criteria used in calculating the index for medical schools were:
--output of primary care physicians,
--doctor-graduates serving in underserved areas, and
--number of minority physicians trained.

"Convincing a medical student, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars in debt, to take a lower-paying job or move to a low-income, rural community can be a tough sell. So perhaps it’s not surprising that many new physicians gravitate toward high-paying specialties or urban sprawls with modern-day conveniences."

"As physicians-in-training with a keen interest in medical education and experience in advocacy, we could not agree more with the need to better align medical education with societal needs, as noted by Leana Wen and colleagues (Dec 3, p e12)."

"With the 100th anniversary of Flexner's seminal report on medical education, The Lancet published guidelines by a global independent Commission that aimed to establish a 21st-century vision for the education of health professionals. As young doctors, we applaud the Commission for moving beyond professional silos to new models of interprofessional collaboration. But there should be more emphasis on service and social mission in health professionals' training."

"As the U.S. health system undergoes substantial change, the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals are breaking free of the tyranny of national rankings systems and demonstrating a 'new excellence' through multiple pathways, AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., said in his annual address at the association’s 122nd annual meeting."