Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system. Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive Summary1. Introduction2. Challenges Facing the Health System and Implications for Educational Reform3. The Core Competencies Needed for Health Care Professionals4. Current Educational Activities in the Core Competencies5. Health Professions Oversight Processes: What They Do and Do Not Do, and What They Could Do6. Recommendations for ReformAppendix A: Committee BiographiesAppendix B: Health Professions Education Summit AgendaAppendix C: Summit Strategies and ActionsAppendix D: Attendee List