Health Professions Education

February 2007 Volume 33 Number 2 One of the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report To Err Is Human was that professional societies develop a curriculum on patient safety and encourage its adoption into training. Further, it suggested that interdisciplinary team training programs be created. A second report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, furthered the argument for education reform, noting that clinical education must be restructured to be consistent with the declared principles of the 21st-century health system—safety, effectiveness, patient centeredness, timeliness efficiency, and equity. The report recognized that given the conservative nature of health professionals, any change in the preparation of the workforce could be “exceedingly slow and difficult to accomplish, especially if there is not a clear understanding of why the change may be needed or of its impact on current practices.” 220) In 2002, the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education, leading the way in response to these reports, developed a set of core competencies expected of graduates of all residency programs—medical knowledge, patient care, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, professionalism, and communication skills (including working effectively with others as a member or leader of a health care team). A report published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2001, Contemporary Issues in Medicine: Quality of Care, suggested strategies to speed the process of change in medical student education, one of which was a pilot program among a cohort of medical schools to serve as a model for other institutions. Leadership Strategies of Medical School Deans to Promote Quality and Safety Health Professions Education