ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --For 164 years, the University of Michigan Medical School has led the nation in innovative ways of training new physicians.

Now, the school will take those efforts to a new level, after being awarded a $1.1 million grant from the American Medical Association in a national competition aimed at accelerating change in medical education.

As one of only 11 medical schools selected as winners by the AMA, U-M will use the funds to create a flexible new framework for medical students that will prepare them to lead change in health and health care in the dynamic global environment.

The resulting new curriculum will connect students directly with U-M's clinical settings from the beginning of their training, working with other health professionals, and building a firm foundation of knowledge and skills. There will be an explicit focus on the development of leadership skills and professional identity, with the opportunity to unify the learning that happens in both medical school and residency training.

The winners were announced in advance of the AMA national meeting in Chicago on Friday. As U-M leaders develop and launch the new curriculum, they will take part in an AMA-led consortium of the other funded medical schools to ensure that best practices and innovations can be shared.

"The vision, creativity and dedication of our faculty have made Michigan an internationally recognized leader in medical education. As we revise our curriculum to best provide our students the educational foundation to become tomorrow's clinical and scientific leaders, this grant will provide financial resources and a national community of educators that will enhance the process," says James O. Woolliscroft, M.D., dean of the U-M Medical School and Lyle C. Roll Professor of Medicine.

Over the next five years, as the curricular model is designed and phased in, the U-M medical student learning experience will become increasingly flexible, competency-based and oriented to the student's interests, learning styles, and abilities. Students will be able to progress through aspects of the program at different rates, allowing them to master one phase of training, before proceeding to the next one.

A critical component of the model is the creation of the "M-Home", a learning community that each student will be assigned to for his or her entire medical school career, connecting them to a team of faculty mentors, advisors, and clinical care settings that will foster their professional development.

"We need to bring medical education into the 21st century, where data-driven, team-based health care, grounded in science and quality, and informed by ethical, social and patient-centric factors, is the norm," says Rajesh Mangrulkar, M.D., associate dean for medical student education, associate professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Education, and principal investigator of the proposal. "Our new curriculum will ensure we produce doctors who will be ready to lead changes in different aspects of health care that will have an impact on patients and their communities."

From Flexner to flexible

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Transforming the training of tomorrow's doctors: U-M Medical School wins $1.1M award from AMA