What happens when we don't teach doctors all the "C's"?

Medical education is sorely in need of reform. Patients want it. Future doctors want it. Community stakeholders want it. Employers want it. It seems the only ones who are resisting are the medical educators and administrators who actually do it.

One strategy for helping doctors win the 4th industrial revolution is to teach and measure the "C's: creativity, complex problem solving, critical thinking, connection, collaboration, communication.

Here's what is happening because we teach to the test instead of teaching the C's:

Creativity: By insisting on conformity and rote memorization, we limit innovation and exclude those with an entrepreneurial mindset at the very time we need them the most.

Complex problem solving: Changing sickcare to healthcare is a wicked problem that cannot be fixed from inside. The results are innovation silos and iceberg innovations.

Critical thinking skills: Not thinking critically limits our understanding of the value of new technologies, like artificial intelligence in medicine and leads to technology adoption errors. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and effectively break down an issue in order to make a decision or find a solution. At the heart of critical thinking is the ability to formulate deep, different, and effective questions. For effective questioning, start by holding your hypotheses loosely. Be willing to fundamentally reconsider your initial conclusions — and do so without defensiveness. Second, listen more than you talk through active listening. Third, leave your queries open-ended, and avoid yes-or-no questions. Fourth, consider the counterintuitive to avoid falling into groupthink. Fifth, take the time to stew in a problem, rather than making decisions unnecessarily quickly. Last, ask thoughtful, even difficult, follow-ups.

Connection: Limited internal and external networks are a major impediment to entrepreneurial success. Connecting is part of the innovator's DNA.

Collaboration: Medical care teams take care of patients and their care communities. The failure to collaborate results in waste, complications and death. We need interprofessional entrepreneurship. Is your team psychologically safe?

Communication: The failure to communicate leads to misunderstandings, malpractice suits, non-compliance, referral leaks, dropped handoffs, prolonged length of stays, inappropriate readmissions and repeated ER visits..

We are too soft on the soft skills, which, in fact, are no softer than biochemistry or acid-base balance.

Sickcare is a culture of conformity and competition. Premeds know it. Medical students and residents learn it. But, once they graduate, they are told they will be paid for value. Unfortunately, few will teach them how to do it and reconcile the culture of conformity and competition with an innovative culture of creativity , collaboration and interprofessional communication.

We should be thankful that we are starting to see some cracks in the armor.

Here are some ways to balance the two mindsets

Many p-12 educators have embraced teaching the C's and using experiential learning to reinforce and practice them. When those sixth graders get to medical school, they will expect the same.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs

Updated 4/12/2022