title: Internal medicine residency redesign: proposal of the Internal Medicine Working Group.
abstract: Concerned with the quality of internal medicine training, many leaders in the field assembled to assess the state of the residency, evaluate the decline in interest in the specialty, and create a framework for invigorating the discipline. Although many external factors are responsible, we also found ourselves culpable: allowing senior role models to opt out of important training activities, ignoring a progressive atrophy of bedside skills, and focusing on lock-step curricula, lectures, and compiled diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The group affirmed its commitment to a vision of internal medicine rooted in science and learned with mentors at the bedside. Key factors for new emphasis include patient-centered small group teaching, greater incorporation of clinical epidemiology and health services research, and better schedule control for trainees. Because previous proposals were weakened by lack of evidence, we propose to organize the Cooperative Educational Studies Group, a pool of training programs that will collect a common data set describing their programs, design interventions to be tested rigorously in multi-methodological approaches, and at the same time produce knowledge about high-quality practice.
authors.affiliation: GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA 19406, USA. ralph.i.horwitz@gsk.com
authors.forename: Ralph I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Horwitz
authors.forename: Jerome P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kassirer
authors.forename: Eric S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Holmboe
authors.forename: Holly J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Humphrey
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verghese
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Croft
authors.forename: Minjung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loscalzo
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration; D005221:Fatigue / Q000517:prevention & control; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D020406:Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011057:Politics; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration; D012955:Societies, Medical; D018511:Systems Integration; D014481:United States; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance