Missions of a medical school: A North American perspective

Despite its strong reputation and obvious accomplishments, medical educatio n in the United States needs to address five areas in which its products an d processes are not sufficiently aligned with society's expectations. First , medical education must address the escalation of health care costs by pla cing greater emphasis on teaching evidence-based medicine. Second, the curr ent overproduction of medical specialists must be changed in favor of educa tion generalist physicians. Third, physicians must become more skilled in w orking with patients and populations to alter poor lifestyle choices. Fourt h, medical education should contribute to meeting the health care needs of the medically underserved by ensuring a physician population that is racial ly and ethnically diverse. Finally, medical education must address the eros ion of trust that has occurred between physicians and their patients by emp hasizing the primacy of the patient's interest in all that a physician does .