Research
05.21.2009
Changing Medical Education Curriculums are Requiring a New Architectural Response
Leslie Sims and Sindu Meier
Since 2006, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has advocated that US medical schools expand their capacity and train more doctors. After speaking with leaders from several American medical schools, Perkins+Will has found that each school is in the process of expanding their enrollment but is also addressing the issue of recruiting and retaining current student enrollment numbers. By taking a new look at the school's mission, growth in class size, curriculum and the learning styles of today's students, medical schools are helping to break down the silos of expertise that inherently exist in the delivery of healthcare. Not since the Flexner report published in 1910 has US medical education curriculum been modified in this wholesale manner.
Perkins+Will researched and analyzed these changes in response to our health science clients' changing needs for their campuses and physical structures. Our research focused on the field of medicine. This white paper examines these sweeping changes in medical education and analyzes how they will affect the physical structures of health science school classrooms, buildings, and campuses of the future.
