Physician Executive Leadership: Student-Led Curriculum to Fill Gaps in Traditional Medical Education

Students at Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) have identified a gap in the traditional medical curriculum surrounding topics such as telehealth, the patient experience, health policy, medical malpractice, and health care entrepreneurship and innovation, and in response have initiated a student-centered, student-led, student-driven program called Physician Executive Leadership (PEL). PEL provides students with a variety of avenues to engage with these topics, such as lectures from leaders in each of these fields, easy access to weekly news articles on current events in health care, targeted review sessions on the US health care system, and the opportunity to voice and develop ideas through an online publication. To identify the gaps in medical education PEL is best suited to fill, we administered a survey to 174 students at Sidney Kimmel Medical College.The survey contained 20 multiple-choice questions to assess general knowledge on health insurance and reimbursement, health care policy and reform, and care quality and patient experience. It also included a subjective self-assessment of students’ understanding of and interest in these topics. Overall, we found that although the traditional medical school curriculum improved students\u27 understanding of these topics from year to year, it is not sufficient on it\u27s own: on average, students failed to achieve a passing score of 70% in any of the categories tested. Further illustrating the importance of this program, students self-identified a gap between their current level of understanding and what they want to know. Please visit our website www.physicianexecutiveleadership.com to learn more!https://jdc.jefferson.edu/pel/1000/thumbnail.jp

Evaluating and Responding to Medical Student Demand for Global Health Education

Introduction With the constant interchange of people and diseases across continents, “the separation between domestic and international health problems is no longer useful.” (1) Look no further than the 80,000 refugees currently resettled in the United States for proof that health is a global phenomenon. The medical community needs to respond to the changing global landscape by training future healthcare leaders to think and act globally. Medical students across the U.S. recognize this need with 68% of U.S. allopathic medical schools having an active student global or international health interest group. (2) Unfortunately, training opportunities lag behind student interest with only 39% of medical schools offering didactic coursework in global health. (3) To date, there have been no formalized, organized global health educational electives at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. However, the majority of students are actively involved in at least one organization dedicated to underserved populations, cultural diversity, and public/international health, including several student-run clinics targeting refugees in Philadelphia. Working with refugee and immigrant populations provides the opportunity to do global health work locally. The purpose of this study was to capture SKMC interest in global health and assess the need for improvement in the medical college curriculum