AAMC Report: Medical Education Should Boost Research Training

The Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, has called for a new emphasis on attracting and fostering more translational and clinical researchers. That emphasis should begin in medical school and continue in residency training, says the AAMC.

In its report, Promoting Translational and Clinical Science: The Critical Role of Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals. (PDF file: 65 pages / 1 MB. More about PDFs.), the AAMC recommends "Every future physician should receive a thorough education in the basic principles of translational and clinical research, both in medical school and during residency training."

If fully implemented, the recommendation would, at a minimum, enable future physicians to understand and evaluate medical research, explain such research to their patients and -- when appropriate -- refer patients to clinical trials, the report says.

Moreover, teaching translational and clinical research in medical schools and residency programs would expose future physicians to career possibilities they might not otherwise consider.

"The impact of this on family medicine education will be small but potentially significant," said Perry Pugno, M.D., M.P.H., director of AAFP's Medical Education Division. "Most people choose family medicine because they want to make an impact on patients' lives in a very personal way. However, family physicians are particularly well-suited to this kind of 'broad perspective with in-the-trenches pragmatism' research."

The health care community needs family medicine researchers, and future family physicians who opt for research careers will gain much from the support recommended in the AAMC report, he continued.

"Those family physicians who also have an interest in research should be nurtured, and this document articulates some very good ideas for doing that," said Pugno.