AMA awards grants to transform med school

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CHICAGO, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. medical schools have until Feb. 15 to submit brief, bold, innovative proposals on how to transform how doctors are trained, a doctors' group says.

The American Medical Association said it hopes its $10 million competitive grant initiative attracts bold, innovative ideas to transform the way medical schools train future physicians.

"Rapid changes in healthcare require a transformation in the way we train future physicians," Dr. Jeremy A. Lazarus, president of the AMA, said in a statement. "The AMA is deeply committed to redesigning undergraduate medical education to prepare the medical students of today for the healthcare of tomorrow."

Across the continuum of medical education, the gap between how physicians are trained and the future needs of healthcare continues to widen, Lazarus said.

The AMA is seeking to attract and support bold, rigorously evaluated innovations that align medical student training with the evolving needs of patients, communities and the changing healthcare environment, Lazarus said.

As part of the Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative, the AMA will provide $10 million over the next five years to fund 8-10 projects that support a significant redesign of undergraduate medical education.

From the initial pool of proposals, the AMA will invite a select group of medical schools to submit a full proposal by May 15 and will conduct a thorough review of all materials before announcing the selected schools at its annual meeting in June.