Where We Stand
Section: Medical Education - Continuing
Policy: Future Direction in Continuing Education

Future Direction in Continuing Education

OMA policy statement on medical education was adopted in response to the December 1979 AMA report, “Future Directions for Medical Education.” Addressing medical education as a continuous process which requires the ongoing scrutiny of all segments of the medical profession, OMA policy statement is as follows:

  1. Cultural education of physicians. The education of physicians prior to entrance to medical school should encompass a broad cultural education in the liberal arts and social sciences in addition to the biologic, mathematical and physical sciences requisite, as a base for and understanding of, the medical sciences. Additionally, the admission selection process should encompass more than technical skills/knowledge assessments to include moral, ethical and behavioral characteristics.

  2. Societal expectations and academic freedom. While realistically recognizing that medical schools cannot be self-sustaining, they should nonetheless remain as unencumbered as possible from the expectations and requirements of potential and actual benefactors and grantors.

  3. Generalism and specialism in education. Institutions providing medical education should recognize the need for a comprehensive approach to the training of physicians, which would invite a broader exposure to the entire spectrum of clinical disciplines as well as exposure to the benefits of voluntary and part-time teaching physicians who practice medicine in community hospitals. To this end, OMA expresses concern regarding the decrease in influence and loss of stature of major clinical departments in some medical schools and hospitals resulting from specialism, yet recognizes the difficulty of reversing such a clearly established trend.

  4. United States citizens seeking a medical education. While health care may be a right in the United States, it does not follow that every U.S. citizen who is qualified and has the means should ultimately expect to practice medicine in the United States. In fact, continuation of this policy will compromise the quality of the medical profession and ultimately the quality of the care it provides.

  5. Evaluation of competence. The evaluation of each student's non-cognitive abilities (e.g., behavioral characteristics, interpersonal relationships) should be regarded as an essential part of the assessment process. Faculties of medical schools should conduct this evaluation as effectively and objectively as possible as part of their responsibility in granting the MD degree.


  6. Licensure. OMA agrees that eligibility requirements for the issuance of a license should consist of evaluation instruments designed to assess an applicant's knowledge, problem solving ability and clinical judgment in the general field of medicine and should include documentation of an applicant's non-cognitive capabilities, and moral and ethical qualities.

  7. Accreditation. OMA agrees, as part of its responsibility to the public and all segments of the medical profession, the AMA should continue to accept major responsibility in defining minimal standards for the evaluation of medical education at all levels, and should continue to participate in accreditation at all levels and make appropriate recommendations and changes where the need for change is demonstrated.

Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 1980.
Revised at the annual House of Delegates, 2011.

Return to the Where We Stand table of contents.