The introduction of clinical redesign content into an undergraduate curriculum: An innovative way of introducing medical students to the concepts of health service improvement

If healthcare systems are to be transformed and effective changes to be sustained into the future, it is essential that healthcare students be educated about and exposed to not just clinical conditions in isolation but to broader system issues prior to graduation. Until now this important topic has been either overlooked in curricula or individual clinicians have approached it in a largely ad hoc manner. To date there has been little or no formal integration of the principles of broader systems management and reform into undergraduate curricula in Australia.

The Hobart Clinical School at the University of Tasmania has engaged with Health Service Innovation Tasmania and is developing a program that will imbue the principles and practice of clinical redesign into its curriculum. This will be achieved through:

The development of workshops outlining the principles of clinical redesign and equipping students with the tools to undertake such work

 Integrating the principles of clinical redesign into every case-based learning session taught at the School

 Incorporating clinical redesign into their long case discussions by identifying opportunities for analysis and reform

 The development of a three-week selective enabling students with a particular interest to pursue research in the field

This presentation will describe the existing structure of the final year program at the Hobart Clinical School and how health reform can and should be a part of undergraduate curricula to ensure that future health practitioners are responsible stewards of a precious public resource.