The practice of medicine has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. In addition to the incredible breakthroughs and advancements in medical knowledge, there has been a revolutionary change in the delivery of healthcare. Specialties such as hospitalists, medical informatics, and palliative care didn’t even exist just a few decades ago and now are integral to modern healthcare. There is also a growing demand for physicians to have administrative and leadership skills. For example, there has been a growth in physicians serving as hospital CEOs since a 2011 report suggested better outcomes (in terms of ranked quality) with a physician CEO. Expectations of knowledge and skills of physicians graduating from medical schools have expanded in parallel to these changes.
Over the past 20 years, the concept of “core competencies” has emerged in medical education that has helped categorize other areas of physician knowledge and skills. The core competencies include areas such as systems-based practice (e.g. population health, health policy), practice-based learning and improvement, communication, and professionalism. While medical school curricula have covered these areas in the past, more training in these areas has expanded dramatically…..more