Talk:Medical education in the United States

New article and request for more help
Currently information regarding medical education and training is scattered amongst a number of articles. This information is at best duplicated, but a better description would be "fractured". Furthermore, medical ed/training varies considerably across the world, however the info in the various articles is often U.S.-specific. In an attempt to consolidate information regarding medical education and training, I have begun combining information regarding med ed/training into country-specific overview articles.

Today I have combined the information in the U.S. section of this article with the information in the U.S. section of Medical school into Medical education in the United States. At present it essentially covers the typical "training trajectory" as presented in those articles. Hopefully some people more expert in this area can recheck the information. Eventually it would be good if someone could expand the article with information on history (Flexner Report, etc), recent developments, controversies, etc.

Cheers, --Daveb 09:51, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Errors in Names of Schools
I have noticed and corrected quite a number of errors in the sections for names of schools. Several states are incorrectly formatted (Iowa was part of Indiana and Pennsylvania was part of Oregon) and some school names are not correctly formatted as per the formatting given on the schools website or even on other wikipedia articles. I've done some work today to edit this but if anyone has a chance and knowledge of medical schools in the US, help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Formator 16:53, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for fixing any formatting problems. The list of the names of schools was copied and pasted directly from the official list of colleges on the AAMC's (Association of American Medical Colleges) website, so errors should be pretty limited (and kind of surprising!). Donaldal 07:43, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

Naturopathic, Osteopathic, Allopathic
This article seems to be referring to the education of MD's and DO's, who fall a similar path and whose degrees are considered equivalent in all 50 states. It doesn't make sense to lump ND's into this discussion without clarifying that their program and licensure requirements are vastly different.

The requirements to enter an ND program are the same as for MD/DO programmes; the core program is nearly identical; and licensing requirements parallel USMLE style 'board exams'. The absence of universal licesure in all jurusdictions doesn't alter the fact that the educational model is pretty much the same as for DOs/MDs. 72.0.222.217 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 02:11, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Confusion
I'm finding this article a bit hard to understand, and was wondering if it should be made clearer, or if im just an idiot. For example, in the Internship section it says, "During the last year of medical school, students apply for postgraduate residencies in their chosen field of specialization," despite the fact that there is a Residency section. Is this a mistake? But furthermore, I'm having difficulties understanding the change in status, like at what point are you a Resident? During the residency? After?

I just feel that this article should be easier for stupid people like me to understand. DenimForce2.0 23:44, 24 May 2007 (UTC)


 * You're not stupid, its just that the current system is hodgepodge of "the way we've always done it" plus the changes demanded in the increasingly specialized sub-fields of medicine: as a changing model, the confusion is inherent in the system. Generally (though progressively historically) speaking, internships lasted a year-or-so, which were then followed by two-to-four+ year residencies. Many training programs have shifted to an integrated (combined) internship+residency program lasting three-to-five+ years. Confusingly, one is still referred to as an "intern" during the first year of "residency"; worse, a "first-year resident" is typically in the second year of the residency program (i.e. intern (1st year) -> 1st year resident (2nd year), etc). Thus one is a "Resident" beginning with the start of their second year, and remaining through however many years the particular program lasts. -- MarcoTolo 00:09, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Split Medical school into Medical school in the United States
The feuding about GPA and MCAT scores at Talk:Osteopathic medicine has prompted me to try and unify the articles about medicine in the United States. I looked at how the law education articles are structured, and think it might work here. The law articles are Legal education/Legal education in the United States, Law school/Law school in the United States, and Juris Doctor. The new Medical school in the United States article would contain sections like in Law school in the United States: admission, accreditation, curriculum, grades, etc. This article (Medical education in the United States) would contain summaries of medical school, internship, residency, fellowship, and continuing education. The MD and DO articles would then contain information about the degree, and not admissions criteria. There would be a link from MD and DO to Medical school and Medical school in the United States for this information.

Other recent proposals I have made include renaming Osteopathic medicine to Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (see Talk:Osteopathic medicine), and Allopathic medicine to Allopathy (see Talk:Allopathic medicine). The allopathy and osteopathy articles would explain the usage of the terms (which they currently do). The US-specific osteopathy would be in Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and osteopathy. The articles would remain largely unchanged: osteopathy states what osteopathic medicine is, and says that the field has physician/doctorate degrees in the US. Osteopathy could be expanded a bit to include more information on Osteopathy in the US. Differences between MD and DO education/admissions criteria could be stated in "Medical school in the United States". --Scott Alter 13:32, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Macy Report: A new Flexner for US med ed?
"Medical education today is rooted in the landmark work of Abraham Flexner, whose 1910 critique led to a greatly revised model of medical education, the broad outlines of which are still in evidence. Indeed, many features of that model—notably its commitment to the scientific foundations of medicine and its insistence on uniformly high standards— remain as valid as ever. However, the enormous changes that have transformed medicine over the past century have outstripped the ability of the Flexnerian model to prepare future physicians adequately for the challenges and expectations of the new century."

Regarding Standard-Setting Bodies
The agencies responsible for accrediting allopathic and osteopathic medical education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels should promote innovation across the continuum. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), and the Council on Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training (COPT) should: Bryan Hopping T  00:55, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
 * begin promptly to share information with one another
 * collaborate to assure maximal flexibility in designing and implementing accredited undergraduate and graduate education programs. This flexibility is particularly important for the LCME and COCA in fostering innovations in new, applicant schools, and schools undergoing significant expansion
 * foster team training and the efficient use of faculty and clinician resources across the professions
 * develop methods to disseminate information about innovative programs

Internship
This article links to the article 'Internship (medicine)' which has a section discussing the United States where it says that

"A medical internship typically lasts one year (a loose term) and usually begins July 1. Internships come in two variations, transitional and specialty track. After a physician has completed an internship and Step 3 of the USMLE or COMLEX-USA, he or she can practice general medicine. However, the majority of physicians complete a specialty track medical residency over two to seven years, depending on the specialty."

This indicates that not choosing a specialty or undertaking a 'Residency' for that specialty is an option to a physician, yet this is not noted in this articles section on 'Internship'. If it is true, don't you think it should be included in this article? If true, it could be mentioned in this articles section 'Internship', that not choosing or going into a specialty is an option. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DarkApollo (talk • contribs) 23:59, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

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