title: What Is Implementation Science and What Forces Are Driving a Change in Medical Education?
abstract: Evidence-based interventions to improve health care and medical education face multiple complex barriers to adoption and success. Implementation science focuses on the period following research dissemination, which is necessary but insufficient to address important gaps in clinician performance and patient outcomes. This article describes the forces on health care institutions, medical schools, physician clinicians, and trainees that have created the imperative to design educational interventions to address the gap between evidence and practice. These forces include accreditation, certification, licensure, and regulatory and research funding initiatives focused on improving the quality of health professions education and clinical practice. Medical educators must expand their focus on "what to change" to include "how to change" in order to prepare health care professionals and institutions to effectively adopt new evidence-based practices to improve patient, and ultimately population, outcomes.
authors: 1 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors: David C
authors: DC
authors: Thomas
authors: 2 Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA.
authors: Arnold
authors: A
authors: Berry
authors: 3 NEJM Group, Waltham, MA.|Deceased.
authors: Alexander M
authors: AM
authors: Djuricich
authors: 4 University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Kitto
authors: 5 Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA.
authors: Kathy O'Kane
authors: KO
authors: Kreutzer
authors: 6 University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, CT.|7 University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT.
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Van Hoof
authors: 8 Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR.
authors: Patricia A
authors: PA
authors: Carney
authors: 9 University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM.
authors: Summers
authors: S
authors: Kalishman
authors: 10 Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.
authors: Dave
authors: D
authors: Davis
mesh_terms: D003406:Credentialing / Q000592:standards; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006281:Health Occupations / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards
keywords: implementation science; medical education