If you have been on the internet for the past five years, you will know that the advancement of robotic technology has been moving very quickly. From drones to AI to machine learning to automated cars, advancements in the robotics industry are everywhere. The best part? It shows no sign of slowing down either.
Robots and artificial intelligence are here to stay. But what role will they play in the development of medical school curriculum? How much of an impact will they have when it comes to the study of medicine?
The Role of New Tech
In the medical field, you can expect robots and computers with artificial intelligence programs to take on more increasingly important roles. For example, in the operating room of the future, robotic technology and AI are bound to be common sights.
It is not just in operating rooms, but almost in every aspect of health care and medicine, these new technologies will become major players. There was a report that an AI program made in China was able to diagnose children’s diseases better than human doctors.
With technology advancing so quickly already, it can be really exciting to think about what the next 10, 20, and 50 years will look like.
Changes in the Medical Education
The question now is, when are medical students going to be introduced to these new technologies?
How should these technologies be included in the medical education and curriculum?
These questions and others were answered in the Topol Review. This is the brainchild of Eric Topol, a world-renowned digital medicine researcher and a skilled cardiologist. Topol is also the professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research Institute. His goal? To explore how to prepare the healthcare workforce through education and training to deliver the digital future.
Topol created a team of reviewers and advisory panels to help come up with recommendations for England’s National Health Service (NHS) staff. Though these recommendations are for the NHS of the United Kingdom, the insights gained by the review can also be applied in medical schools across the globe.
One of the main things that was explored by Topol and his team is how technology will affect and change the roles of medical practitioners in the future.
The report that was submitted by the review recommends that a new culture of learning be developed and nurtured in the medical field. Their recommendations are as follows:
- Use methods that are multiprofessional and collaborative.
- Use more infrastructure for workplace learning.
- Focus on proactive learning.
- Grant staff time for development separate from their regular duties.