In this month’s installment of Dean Termuhlen’s Take On …, Dr. Paula Termuhlen discusses the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the important role the organization plays in academic medicine and helping WMed forward its mission.
What is the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and what importance does the organization play in supporting and expanding academic medicine?
The mission of the AAMC is to lead and serve academic medicine to improve the health of people everywhere. Essentially, they are our voice. They look at the four missions of medical schools – clinical care, research, education, and community engagement – through the lens of academic medicine and represent member institutions at the national level. They are also conveners of medical school leaders, faculty, and staff with specific interests, and provide important opportunities for networking and collaboration.
WMed is among more than 170 accredited U.S. and Canadian medical schools that are currently member institutions of the AAMC. Why is the medical school’s membership in the AAMC important for our faculty, residents, fellows, students, staff, and the institution as a whole?
Because of how the AAMC is structured with the opportunities to convene different skills within specific groups and councils, it provides us with a ready-made group of peers and colleagues where we can network. We rely on them to help us solve problems, and we can also offer our expertise to others. It’s an opportunity for us to be part of the larger community of academic medicine. This is really our home, and it gives us a place where we can be with others to do the work that we’re called to do.
As the leader of a AAMC member institution, you serve on the AAMC Council of Deans (COD). What important issues around academic medicine and medical education is the COD currently discussing and addressing that might be of interest to the WMed community?
The Council of Deans is the group of individuals who lead each of the medical schools across North America. It’s our responsibility to advocate through our relationships for some of the key issues that are impacting the health of people everywhere. One important issue we’ve been discussing relates to well-being for physicians, particularly for learners. We are also talking about the importance of research and supporting research so we can continue scientific breakthroughs to help us improve the health of everyone. Another area we are specifically focused on is creating a workforce of physicians who reflect and understand the patients we serve. We’re really wrestling with how to be true to our goal of creating that workforce while honoring the direction the U.S. Supreme Court has given us related to the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. We must navigate SCOTUS while at the same time knowing that health outcomes are better when you have a diversified physician workforce.
You currently serve on the AAMC Council of Deans’ Administrative Board and the Insight Circle on Leadership Accountability for Diversity. Talk about the importance of these roles and what each entails.
The main component of both roles is representation. In my role on the Administrative Board, I am representing medical schools that are similarly structured to WMed in being community-based and community-engaged. In the Insight Circle on Leadership Accountability for Diversity, I am representing the voice of our medical school and the work we’re doing with our vision around health equity for all in Southwest Michigan. Both roles are important because it elevates WMed and creates more awareness of the work we are doing. It allows us to continue to have a seat at the table to make significant contributions that will help us hopefully solve some really challenging problems we have today in medicine. For instance, at WMed we had an opportunity to hear from a representative from the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation about physician suicide and what things we can do to reduce the barriers for learners and physicians seeking care. This includes working with state medical boards to ensure language on applications does not create a bias against individuals who have sought out mental and behavioral health services. Directly from that kind of experience, I’ve been able to help advocate for this to be a focus for the Administrative Board. I was able to help validate the importance of it and bring to light that beyond our licensure and hospital privileging, we also need to be looking at our malpractice carriers and how they ask questions of physicians. That was something we uncovered at WMed that I was able to highlight with the Administrative Board. This is another place where we need to spend time and attention to help make sure that everybody can receive the mental and behavioral services they need without concern that it will limit their ability to practice.
Over the course of your career, how has the AAMC helped you grow as a physician and leader in academic medicine?
One of the other components of the AAMC is their work in leadership development. I’ve had the opportunity to take advantage of all the programming they’ve had for women physicians to be successful in academic medicine since I was an assistant professor. It helped me to start to value leadership development, to seek out additional information and programming to help grow me into the leader I am today. I have a lot of gratitude for the AAMC for the quality of the programming they provide. I have purposefully sent individuals from every organization I’ve been a part of and supported their participation in AAMC activities, including here at WMed. AAMC has programming for early and mid-career leadership, as well as offerings for senior leaders. For example, Cheryl Dickson, MD, MPH, our associate dean for Health Equity, is participating in a leadership workshop related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. The very first offering I ever participated in was an early career program for women. I didn’t think I needed it and yet when I went it really helped me recognize the challenges and opportunities that women face in leadership and how to navigate that in a way to become a more effective leader. It fundamentally convinced me that there was value in learning more about leadership skills and it also helped me make connections that have continued to pay off throughout my career.
Dean’s Hat Tip
I want to take a moment to congratulate Joyce deJong, DO, professor and founding chair of the Department of Pathology at WMed, and wish her well in her new role as dean of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. I want to thank Dr. deJong for her years of service in Kalamazoo. The Department of Pathology does a masterful job of teaching our medical students and learners in addition to serving our community and region through the Office of the Medical Examiner and Forensic Services. They have been able to forward the missions of WMed in a way that continues to shine a bright light on the good work that we’re doing. I want to give Dr. deJong a lot of credit for her leadership to create that department.
Dean Termuhlen’s Take On ... is a monthly message from our dean to discuss topics of importance to WMed, medical school stakeholders, and the communities that make up Southwest Michigan. Is there a topic you would like to hear Dean Termuhlen’s take on? Let us know by sending a message to office.dean@wmed.edu.