On June 5, representatives from the American Medical Association's Accelerating Change in Medical Education (ACE) leadership team visited Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) to review accomplishments made during the past five years of VUSM's participation in the ACE consortium.
Led by Susan Skochelak, MD MPH, group vice president for Medical Education at the AMA, the team met with faculty members who oversaw VUSM's transition to Curriculum 2.0, an innovative medical school curriculum that promotes the skills needed for self-directed lifelong learning, allows individualized curricular pathways, and employs a competency-based assessment system. VUSM began implementation of Curriculum 2.0 in 2013, and two classes have now graduated from the program.
In 2013, VUSM was one of 11 medical schools awarded a $1 million grant over five years to support these transformative efforts. Last month's visit marked the end of the initial funding period. In 2015, the AMA invited 21 additional schools to participate in the consortium's efforts.
Skochelak presented her reflections on the impact of the ACE consortium during a Medical Education Grand Rounds that was open to all of VUSM's faculty and students. By encouraging the introduction of health systems sciences into medical school curricula, promoting competency-based progression through medical education, and supporting the technology and coaching processes that guide self-assessment, professional formation and individualization, the ACE consortium was tremendously successful and exceeded the AMA's hopes for the project, she said.
Even though this initiative is drawing to a close, the AMA will continue to support innovation in medical education with a new focus on graduate medical education and the transition from medical school to residency.
At the start of the Grand Rounds program, Skochelak recognized Kim Lomis, MD, associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and principle investigator for VUSM's ACE grant, for her role in Vanderbilt's success and her contributions to the consortium's collective efforts.
As senior associate dean for Health Sciences Education at VUSM and executive vice president for Educational Affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, I also had the opportunity to share perspectives during Medical Education Grand Rounds and told those gathered, "We are deeply grateful for the support the AMA has provided us over the past five years and have benefitted greatly from the collaborations built by the consortium. We now look forward to another five years of innovation, in order to address ongoing challenges in healthcare and medical training."
Vanderbilt will continue to serve as a leader in preparing the next generation of physicians.
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