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Forty-six congressional staffers attended an AAMC Project Medical Education (PME) luncheon seminar on Capitol Hill on Monday, June 7. The seminar addressed how AAMC member institutions are working to improve patient safety and to educate tomorrow's doctors about ways to reduce medical errors. Many in attendance had participated in a previous PME program at medical school and teaching hospital campuses across the country, and were afforded an opportunity to reconnect with the program through the luncheon. For others, it served as a compressed example of the interactive non-lobbying, educational experience that PME provides.
The featured presentations demonstrated specific ways that two AAMC member institutions are currently addressing patient safety in the undergraduate and graduate medical education process. Dr. Eliot Sussman, CEO of Lehigh Valley Hospital and chair of AAMC's Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems, served as moderator and provided an overview of patient safety underscoring the commitment that AAMC member institutions are making to reduce the incidence of medical errors.
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In the first presentation, Dr. Joseph Halbach, associate professor and chair of the department of family medicine at New York Medical College, asked the staffers to assume the role of a third-year medical student as he discussed one of the innovative techniques he has employed with his own medical students over the past few years. Using an actual case of a fatal medical error, Dr. Halbach addressed the systemic ways that errors can occur as well as the very human side of errors and the importance of creating a culture where medical mistakes are openly reported. To illustrate one of the ways that he approaches the subject with medical students, Dr. Halbach showed two videos of actual medical students working with a standardized patient in an exercise where the students learn to effectively discuss a medical error with the patient.
The second presentation, conducted by Dr. Clay Dunagan, associate professor of medicine at Washington University and vice president for quality, BJC HealthCare and Dr. Thomas Bailey, associate professor of medicine at Washington University and director of medical informatics for BJC HealthCare, discussed the ways that information technology is being used to enhance the safety of medical care. By
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showcasing the pharmacy and microbiology expert systems implemented in BJC hospitals, Dr. Bailey provided case studies and statistics that illustrate the progress that has been made in reducing medical errors. He also emphasized the importance of reporting systems that provide research data so that continuous improvements and results can be achieved.
The luncheon's strong turnout and the feedback from the congressional staff demonstrates both their high interest in patient safety as well as their continued interest in medical schools and teaching hospitals and their role in advancing our nation's health. As a result of the seminar, several attendees expressed their interest in attending a campus-based Project Medical Education program to learn more about innovations underway in medical education, patient care and research.
During the association's 114th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., outgoing AAMC Chair Theresa Bischoff issued a forceful call to action to the academic medicine community. In her chair's address, Bischoff urged us to reflect on the critical role that government plays in sustaining our country's medical schools and teaching hospitals and, with that in mind, to recognize how imperative it is for each of us to become more politically involved. She underscored her call to action by reminding us that a substantial and critically important portion of the funding for academic medical centers comes from Medicare, Medicaid, the National Institutes of Health, and the Veterans Administration. Given how dependent our institutions are on government-funded programs, the message is abundantly clear: what happens in Washington matters — to each and every one of us! More >>
Capitol Hill Luncheon Seminar for Hill Staffers (October 2003)
Thirty-five congressional staffers attended an AAMC Project Medical Education lunch seminar on Capitol Hill on October 20, 2003. The "Innovations in Medical Education" program featured three interactive sessions and highlighted just a few of the many inventive ways in which medical students and residents are being trained today. More >>
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Project Medical Education is a focused educational program for policymakers, legislative staff and other opinion leaders. Its goal is to provide an increased understanding of the U.S. medical education process and the role that our medical schools and teaching hospitals play in our nation's healthcare.
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