This session will describe Penn State College of Medicine’s new Systems Navigation Curriculum (SyNC) which involves building relationships and collaborating with leaders of affiliated health systems in central Pennsylvania to design educational experiences that align medical education with health system needs. SyNC, launched in August 2014, combines a course in the Science of Health Systems with an immersive experience as a patient navigator. We will focus our discussion on the patient navigation component which provides opportunity for value added student roles in clinical settings in the Penn State Hershey Health System and other health systems throughout central Pennsylvania. In addition, we will discuss how the longitudinal curriculum integrates core systems sciences such as health policy, high-value care, and population and public health with two threads related to evidence-based medicine, along with teamwork and leadership training throughout seven modules. Both the curriculum and patient navigation component are designed to allow students to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to function effectively amid the complexities of an evolving health system.
Value Added Student Roles that Align Education and Health System Needs
Seminar Downloads
Jed David Gonzalo, MD, MSc, received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology/Philosophy from the University of Scranton, and his medical degree from the Penn State College of Medicine, receiving AOA status. He completed his internship, residency, and chief residency at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, MA. Following residency, Dr. Gonzalo completed a fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh in General Internal Medicine/Medical Education, earning a Master’s of Science in Medical Education. In 2012, he was hired as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the Penn State College of Medicine. He has a track record in health services research, with 20+ peer reviewed publications, focusing on team-based bedside rounds, feedback/reflection, quality of care, healthcare disparities, and the interface between education and care delivery. As Associate Dean for Health Systems Education, Dr. Gonzalo coordinates the design and implementation of the Penn State College of Medicine grant awarded by the American Medical Association to “Accelerate Change in Medicine Education.” The Systems Navigation Curriculum includes a 17-month Science of Health Systems course and a Patient Navigator experience, whereby students are embedded into several health systems in south-central Pennsylvania to serve as patient navigators. Since beginning his faculty position, Dr. Gonzalo has received five education awards through the Penn State College of Medicine, and is also a Harvard Macy scholar.
Britta M. Thompson earned her B.S. from Kansas State University, her M.S. from the University of Missouri at Columbia and her Ph.D. in educational psychology from Texas A&M University. After receiving her Ph.D., she joined the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine in 2004 where she became the Director of Evaluation and Assessment and the Director of the Simulation Program. In 2009, became the Assistant Dean for Medical Education and Director of the Office of Medical Education at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. In March of 2015, she joined the faculty at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine as the Associate Dean for Learner Assessment and Program Evaluation. Her research interests in medical include evaluating curricular innovations such as Team-Based Learning, assessing cultural competency and the hidden curriculum, evaluating faculty development programs, and evaluating ways to promote student reflection. Through her work, she has been awarded several teaching and educational research awards. Her research has resulted in almost 200 regional and national peer-reviewed and invited presentations and 40 peer-reviewed articles.