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Health systems science in medical education

Guest Editors:
Jed Gonzalo, MD, MSc: Virginia Tech, USA
Luan Lawson, MD: Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
 

BMC Medical Education  called for submissions to our Collection on health systems science in medical education. Modern healthcare is inextricably linked with the complex systems that shape the delivery of care and public health policy. With research showcasing how health systems science has enhanced patient outcomes, streamlined workflows, and fortified healthcare resilience during times of crisis, the understanding of these systems is fundamental for aspiring healthcare professionals. This Collection aimed to explore the incorporation of health systems science within medical education curricula. 

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 4: Quality Education

Meet the Guest Editors

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Jed Gonzalo, MD, MSc: Virginia Tech, USA

Dr Jed Gonzalo received his MD degree from the Penn State College of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and chief residency at the Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, where he was Instructor at the Harvard Medical School. Following residency, Jed completed a fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh in General Internal Medicine/Medical Education. He spent 10 years at the Penn State College of Medicine as Associate Dean for Health Systems Education. Currently, Jed is the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, where is also tenured professor of medicine and health systems and implementation science. Jed has an established track record for scholarship, multi-institutional collaborations, and grant funding (AMA, AAMC, HRSA, and Josiah Macy Foundation - Faculty Scholar Award).

Luan Lawson, MD: Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Luan E. Lawson is the Senior Associate Dean of Medical Education and Student Affairs and an Emergency Medicine physician at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Her academic interests have focused on undergraduate education, with expertise in curriculum development, assessment, and team training. As the PI of the American Medical Association (AMA) Accelerating Change in Education (ACE) grant, she oversaw the design and implementation of the Teachers of Quality Academy faculty development program, a Health System Transformation and Leadership Distinction Track for medical students, and a longitudinal curriculum in Health Systems Science. Her work with the AMA-ACE Consortium has focused on defining and codifying the principles of Health Systems Science (HSS) and developing curricula needed to teach these competencies to health care professionals. She serves as faculty for the AMA’s Health System Science Scholars program.

About the Collection

BMC Medical Education  called for submissions to our Collection on health systems science in medical education. Modern healthcare is inextricably linked with the complex systems that shape the delivery of care and public health policy. With research showcasing how health systems science has enhanced patient outcomes, streamlined workflows, and fortified healthcare resilience during times of crisis, the understanding of these systems is fundamental for aspiring healthcare professionals. 

It is important that medical education programs are reformed to meet the constantly evolving needs of health systems. Challenges associated with this include the necessity for new curricular methods, assessments, and resource allocation. This Collection aimed to explore the incorporation of health systems science within medical education curricula. We invited submissions on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Curricular innovations: Showcase inventive approaches, like competency-based frameworks, interprofessional education, and interdisciplinary collaborations that integrate health systems science into curricula.
  • Assessment strategies: Present novel methodologies, from simulation-based assessments to real-world case analyses, for evaluating learners' grasp of health systems science concepts.
  • Technology and learning: Explore technology's role in teaching health systems science, sharing insights into e-learning platforms, virtual patient simulations, and data-driven learning.
  • Faculty development: Share strategies to equip educators with health systems science expertise, including faculty training and professional development.
  • Patient-centered approaches: Examine how health systems science understanding enhances patient-centered care, addressing shared decision-making, patient advocacy, and communication.
  • Global perspectives: Explore diverse healthcare systems worldwide, offering lessons through cross-cultural comparisons, international collaborations, and global health systems integration.
  • Impact of health systems science in medical education: Present health systems science's impact in medical education, highlighting improved patient care, system efficiency, and learner competence.


This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG #4: Quality Education
 

Image credit: NanSan / Stock.adobe.com

  1. Clinical faculty development focused on Health Systems Science (HSS) is crucial for integrating HSS concepts into medical education. The 2021 HSSIP Faculty Development program was created to support faculty in...

    Authors: Sarah M. Harendt, Lisa Allison-Jones, Mariah J. Rudd, Natalie E. Karp, Sarah H. Parker and Shari A. Whicker
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:395
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. E-health literacy is the skill of searching, finding, understanding, and evaluating health information from electronic information sources and using this information to diagnose or treat a health disorder. Ade...

    Authors: Yalda Mousazadeh, Parvin Sarbakhsh, Azizollah Arbabisarjou, Mohaddeseh Tolouei, Heydar Mousavi and Sahar Molaei
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:246
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) was founded on a vision of addressing the determinants of health (DoH) in the daily practice of medicine. The school has an active learning curriculum partially c...

    Authors: Tovah Tripp, Miriam Hoffman, Mitchell Miller and Joshua S. Josephs
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:210
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the process of obtaining information about COVID-19 infection among students of the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (DPR) by examining the t...

    Authors: Duygu Ilgin Gunduz, Erhan Secer and Melda Baser Secer
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:189
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Oral general course (OGC) is a basic subject of medical education. The implementation of multidisciplinary team (MDT) meets the individual needs of patients. Based on the concept of MDT, this study combined th...

    Authors: Xue-Jing Lin, Jie Zhou, Qing Yuan, Yu-Lei Dong, Wen-Xuan Xia, Diwas Sunchuri and Zhu-Ling Guo
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2025 25:113
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Healthcare provider leadership programs represent an intervention opportunity to support advancement of the national system of care and an evaluation of their program impacts is needed. Between 2016 and 2023, ...

    Authors: Tara Carr, Scott Rosas, Cheryl Noble, Michelle Song, Claudia S. P. Fernandez, Kathleen Brandert, Kathy Donnald, Giselle Corbie and Gaurav Dave
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1277
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Health professions education, encompassing training programs for medicine and surgery, nursing, midwifery, medical laboratory sciences,, and public health, along with their regulations, are pivotal to achievin...

    Authors: Mulki Mukhtar Hassan, Amal Naleye Ali, Ifrah Ali, Zeinab Omar Mohamed, Hamza Mohamed Abdullahi, Mohamed Mustaf Ahmed, Abdirahman Khalif Mohamud, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Olalekan John Okesanya and Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:1178
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Effective interprofessional teamwork is essential for the efficiency, safety and quality of healthcare system services and requires interprofessional education for medical students. Physical education is a sim...

    Authors: Zhiling Shen, Xinrong Zeng, Jianyu Li, Man Zheng, Jia Guo, Yaming Yang, Guochun Liu and Chunmei Cao
    Citation: BMC Medical Education 2024 24:821
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Health systems science in medical education" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.