Innovation-Oriented Medical School Curricula: Review of the Literature

Abstract

Innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) programs in medical education have become available as medical schools recognize the need to train forward-thinking physicians. There is considerable diversity in the design and implementation of these curricula, which represents a challenge and possibly serves as a deterrent for the development of additional I&E programs. A comprehensive search of medical school I&E programs and review of all Association of American Medical Colleges member websites (n = 171) were conducted. This review sought to (1) identify all American and Canadian allopathic medical schools with I&E curricula, (2) evaluate their structure/integration in the context of medical education, (3) outline core learning themes, and (4) describe the evaluative metrics. Information was collected through published or publicly available websites and through a questionnaire sent to identified I&E program leaders. Twentyeight I&E-oriented medical education programs were identified from 26 schools; all of the programs integrated faculty leadership with backgrounds in medicine, engineering, and/or business/entrepreneurship. Of the programs, 57% (16/28) had been launched within the past four years and 75% (21/28) based program enrollment on a selective application process. Nearly all (27/28) incorporated lecture series and/or hands-on modules as a teaching technique. The most prevalent metric was completion of a capstone project (22/28; 79%). At least 15.2% (26/171) of American and Canadian allopathic medical schools include the option for students to participate in an I&E curriculum-based program. This review can be used to help medical school faculty with developing I&E curricula.

Innovation in Neurosurgery: Lessons Learned, Obstacles, and Potential Funding Sources

“…One recent example is the establishment of innovation and entrepreneurship training program at Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis), which foster collaboration between medical and engineering teams and yield the generation of new ideas and could be the beginning to allowing more breakthroughs in the field [99]. Medical schools as a whole can promote and incorporate an innovation-led curriculum (i.e., lecture series and hands-on modules with completion of a capstone project), however, less than 20% of American and Canadian medical schools have or participate in this type of curriculum [100].…”

Medical Student Enrollment in a Voluntary Medical Innovation Course

“…2,3 While trends have been positive in the creation of these programs, according to a recent systematic review of US and Canadian medical school websites and curricula, only 26 of the over 170 medical schools across the United States offer their Medical Doctorate (MD) students the opportunity to participate in innovation and entrepreneurship programs alongside the traditional MD education. 4 Despite the importance of physician innovators, 5 the rate of adoption of such programs within medical schools has been slow, with the first of these programs being founded in 2007 and an average of only two new innovation programs founded each year across the country.…”

“…The reasons underlying slow adoption of medical innovation content into US MD curricula are not well described given the paucity of literature in the field. 4 We hypothesize that a number of factors may contribute to the slow rate of adoption, including lack of student willingness to participate, lack of faculty interest, and lack of positive outcomes of such innovation programs for US MD students. Furthermore, the lack of literature on this topic may itself be a reason for the slow adoption of medical innovation curricula in medical schools.…”