Happy Match Day! Today, more than 30,000 new doctors will learn where they will be spending the next 3-7 years to undertake residency training. This morning on NPR’s Marketplace, doctors from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, San Francisco discussed how doctors and hospitals have begun adapting the on-the-job training residents receive so they can better succeed in today’s changing health care system.
The days of “the god-like position doctors held for more than a century” are gone, and residency training today is all about the “team huddle,” according to the story. Teamwork is critical in the new health care era for improving patient health, avoiding errors and holding down costs, says Dr. Brian Smith of Penn.
Another example: students are learning about the cost of care and how their decisions impact patients’ pocketbook as well as health care spending by government and businesses. As Dr. Bob Wachter of UCSF says, it’s up to this the new crop of doctors to treat what ails the health care system. Macy has made this a priority as well, funding education programs that focus on students becoming better stewards of resources.
Advancing interprofessional-education-and-teamwork has long been a priority of the Macy Foundation. It is exciting to see that residency programs around the country are taking team-based care seriously and training doctors to work effectively for 21st century healthcare.