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.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION SUMMIT
• REVIEWERS
• Preface
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Executive Summary
  • Building a Bridge to Cross the Quality Chasm
  • Health Professions Education Summit
  • A New Vision for Health Professions Education
  • Next Steps
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 1. Introduction
  • Origins of the Study
  • Health Professions Education Summit
  • Scope of the Report
  • Building Upon Previous Reform Efforts
  • Definitional Issues
  • Organization of the Report
  • References
• Chapter 2. Challenges Facing the Health System and Implications for Educational Reform
  • Current Challenges
  • Implications for Health Professions Education
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 3. The Core Competencies Needed for Health Care Professionals
  • Origin of the Five Competencies
  • The Five Competencies in Practice
  • A Vision of the Prepared Health Care Professional
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 4. Current Educational Activities in the Core Competencies
  • Provide Patient-Centered Care
  • Work in Interdisciplinary Teams
  • Employ Evidence-Based Practice
  • Apply Quality Improvement
  • Utilize Informatics
  • A Vision of the Future Health Professions Student
  • Outcome-Based Education
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 5. Health Professions Oversight Processes: What They Do and Do Not Do, and What They Could Do
  • Overview
  • Educational Accreditation
  • Licensure
  • Certification
  • Organizational Accreditation
  • Demonstration and Maintenance of Competence
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 6. Recommendations for Reform
  • Common Language and Adoption of Core Competencies
  • Integrating Competencies into Oversight Processes
  • Training Environments
  • Research and Information
  • Providing Leadership
  • Conclusion
  • References
• Appendix A Committee Biographies
• Appendix B Health Professions Education Summit Agenda
• Appendix C Summit Strategies and Actions
• Appendix D Attendee List

Support for this project was provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the ABIM Foundation, and the California Healthcare Foundation. The views presented in this report are those of the Institute of Medicine Committee on the Health Professions Education Summit, and are not necessarily those of the funding agencies.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.