Building Interprofessional Competencies Into Medical Education and Assessment

The goal of allopathic and osteopathic medical education is to develop the medical student into a competent and caring physician. As the evolving healthcare system continues to evolve and intersect with an increased breadth and depth of medical knowledge and an aging and more complex patient population, the emerging physician must now rely more on a team-based approach to patient-centered healthcare. Integrating interprofessional competencies into the span of the medical education and assessment process via the core competencies and the Entrustable Professional Activities has the potential to help instill not only the knowledge and skills required to practice as a member of an interprofessional healthcare team, but can also help to normalize the culture and thus the expectation of practicing collaboratively with all members of the health team toward the goal of improved patient outcome.

Transformative Learning in Osteopathic Medical Education

Osteopathic medical education has undergone a transformation in the past century. From the work of Abraham Flexner to present, many lessons have been learned. Today the education of physicians relies on best practices from adult learning theory to allow learners to master the ever expanding biomedical knowledge and skill base needed for competency. Learners are expected to maintain active knowledge of a vast array of facts, be proficient at clinical skills and adapt this knowledge seamlessly to the varied situations they confront with patients. This chapter reviews the past, examines the present and envisions the future, noting how transformative learning is essential to medical training.