Rigorous course work, state of the art laboratories, relevant textbooks and demanding clinical rotations produce technically competent physicians. But surveys say that in addition to highly qualified care givers, we want doctors who are compassionate and know how to communicate well when caring for us and our loved ones, yet the environment in which medical students become physicians is often not conducive to producing these caring qualities.
Teams from eight medical schools across the United States and Canada met recently on the campus of the Indiana University School of Medicine for the nation's first conference focusing on assessing and improving the organizational environment and culture of academic medical centers. Their goal -- to learn more about the social environment, also known as the "hidden curriculum" of medical schools, and how it can be enhanced to produce both technically competent and compassionate physicians.
"Deans and other medical school leaders took advantage of this unique opportunity to use the Indiana University School of Medicine as a laboratory for exploration of the hidden curriculum, honing their capacity to see and hear with their own eyes and ears this critical aspect of physician education," said Thomas Inui, M.D. "They did not come to Indiana University because we are an ideal environment or exemplary environment but because we are at work on our own hidden curriculum and gave them a chance to immerse themselves in an organizational culture under transition." Dr. Inui is president and CEO of the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and associate dean for health services research of the IU School of Medicine. He is one of a team of educators leading the on-going efforts to transform the way future physicians are taught at the IU School of Medicine.
Teams from Baylor, Dartmouth, Drexel, McMaster, Southern Illinois University, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of North Dakota, and University of Washington medical schools shared their own experiences as they observed daily routines and faculty-student interactions at the IU School of Medicine. In addition to attending classes, joining faculty and students engaged in patient care and observing an admissions committee session, conference participants listened in as IU School of Medicine students, in a typical monthly session, read aloud narratives related to their perceptions of how professionalism is expressed in the social environment of the school.