Skip navigation

News & Commentary

Join the Foundation, our grantees, and leading experts for commentary and the latest news on the education and training of health professionals.

From The President

Changing Graduate Medical Education to Maintain the Public’s Trust

New York, NY

Last week, we released the Foundation’s latest report on graduate medical education in the United States. The report calls for major changes in the way we train residents. A broad panel of leaders generated the recommendations, focusing on how to ensure that physicians are trained more effectively and efficiently to meet public needs in today’s health care system.

More >

From The President

Image

Thibault Discusses GME Cuts, Reforms In Op-Ed

New York, NY

Cutting what Medicare spends to fund graduate medical education training may be an easy target. But it is shortsighted and not in the best interest of the American public. At a time when we need to address a serious shortage of physicians, policymakers should seize this opportunity to invest GME dollars more wisely, not scale them back to meet budgetary goals.

More >

From The President

Image

Macy Faculty Scholars: First Class

It is with great pleasure that we announced today the first cohort of Macy Faculty Scholars. These five scholars represent the next generation of innovators in health professions education. They will lead important curriculum reform in their home institutions, testing new models, approaches and content to better educate our future health care workforce. They will also participate in national faculty development programs and become part of a national network of Macy advisors and innovators.

More >

From The President

Image

Building a Foundation for Team-Based Care

Washington, D.C.

We have good evidence that health care delivered in teams is more efficient and leads to better outcomes for patients. But, while we are beginning to break down the silos that doctors, nurses and other health professionals work in, collaborative education is still not the norm. By providing opportunities for students from different health professions to work together in classroom and clinical settings, we can build a foundation for team-based care.

More >

Foundation Updates

100 Years After Flexner: Medical Education Ushers In New Era of Reform

New York, NY

One hundred years ago, a scathing indictment of American medical schools known as the Flexner Report led to sweeping reforms in physician education.

A century later, medical education is again in need of major change - and not only because of national health reform.  Despite everything they do so well, medical schools have not kept pace with the ever-evolving needs of the society they serve.

The centennial of Abraham Flexner’s landmark report, coupled with rapid and dramatic changes in health care, offers an opportunity to review just how far medical schools have come, and, more importantly, where they need to go next.

More >

Foundation Updates

Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Launches First Faculty Scholars Program

New York, NY

To develop the next generation of national leaders in medical and nursing education, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation today unveiled a new funding initiative: the Macy Faculty Scholars Program.  The Faculty Scholars Program is an attempt to recognize and nurture mid-career medical and nursing faculty that have shown great promise by providing to them protected time, mentoring, and a national support network so they can become leaders in educational innovation.  The Foundation is launching its first scholars program to accelerate needed reforms in health professions education to accommodate the dramatic changes occurring in medical practice and health care delivery.

More >

Foundation Updates

Educating Nurses and Physicians: Toward New Horizons

Stanford, CA

I am pleased to share with you the report “Educating Nurses and Physicians: Toward New Horizons,” a summary of the June 2010 invitational conference hosted by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The conference brought together deans and other leaders from medical and nursing schools at seven U.S. academic health centers.  These leaders shared accomplishments and ideas related to their efforts to provide graduate health professions students with education and training in team-based care.

The report provides an overview of the three-day working conference, including an introduction to interprofessional education, summaries of the plenary discussions, and descriptions of the interprofessional education initiatives underway at the seven participating pairs of nursing and medical schools.

More >

Foundation Updates

Welcome from George E. Thibault, MD

Just as academic medicine is undergoing a dramatic transformation in how it teaches health professions students, we at the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation – the only national foundation solely dedicated to improving health professions education – have undergone our own makeover to improve how we educate you about our work. Today we’re very excited to debut a brand new look for our organization.

Our new website will better inform you about the fast-moving developments in health care and health professions education at a pivotal time in the United States. And, it will offer a much more nimble and effective platform to tell our story and engage you in our work.

More >