I am always amazed when I visit the U of T dental school that the biggest room ever is dedicated to drilling and filling. Seemingly hundreds of chairs over which are bent hundreds of dental students practicing their techniques on folks who need low cost care.
And I ask myself, is this where the profession needs to be to be part of the new, emerging healthcare system?
Well, it seems that medical schools are “rebooting” to meet the needs and wants of an aging population. Have a read of this short report on how American medical schools are re-working their curriculum and associated skills. The new emphasis features:
•how to engage the patient so that compliance and trust are maximized
•how to work as a team to avoid the “unquestioned authority” syndrome
•how the overall healthcare system works
The reasons for this shift are many. Have a look at these excerpts:
“There’s too much medical science for anyone to learn in two years – and most information can be quickly accessed from a smartphone or tablet. At the same time, medicine is constantly in flux. What many medical schools are trying to do instead is prepare doctors for the inevitable changes they’ll see over their practice lives.”
“We shouldn’t even try to predict what that system’s going to be like. “We need to give students the tools to be adaptable, to be resilient, to problem solve, push through some things, accept some things, but change other things.”
And I would add, it is increasingly apparent that the biggest room ever at U of T is simply not what the aging community needs and wants.
By: Ross Perry
SOURCED: Partners In Prevention – http://partnersinprevention.ca/medical-schools-are-rebooting-for-the-21st-century-what-about-dental-schools/
