From the year 2050; a glimpse of medical education in the future

This article is supposedly sent from the future; the year 2050.The author describes the evolution of medical education in 21st century and focuses on the challenges ahead of today. The long years of laborious medical education and complex irrelevant curriculum would instigate a loud debate to amend the current educational system. Gradually, the health system would plateau, as rapid turn out of voluminous new information would not be efficiently channelized to actual patient care. Patient dissatisfaction would increase and the clinician-researcher model of physician would be dubious. Consequently, substantial revisions would be inevitable. By year 2050, the author hypothesizes that the system of continuing medical education would be replaced by continuing professional development. The number of years to be a full certified specialist would be significantly shortened and clinicians would be trained to work in a highly specialized multidisciplinary framework. After a common core medical curriculum, health care professionals would adapt different tracks to be physicians, allied health workers and medical scientists. Programme designs would allow early hands on experience in a patient-specialist programme. The main outcomes of patient management would not be limited to diagnosis or treatment of ailment, and would fundamentally incorporate quality of life issues. An early commitment to medical specialty would enable clinicians to focus on their specialized domains, master their skills at the best learning age and retain their energies for tomorrow.