Kimberly Lomis¹
1 American Medical Association 

Health Systems Science (HSS) is the fundamental understanding of how care is delivered, how health care professionals work together to deliver that care, and how the health system can improve patient care and health care delivery. 

Posited as the third pillar of medical education, complementing basic and clinical sciences, HSS is essential to optimal care of patients. Yet assessment of HSS competency development has focused on knowledge or project-based activities. How does the health professional who excels in systems thinking differ in their approach to the daily work of caring for patients and communities? How can educators assure that all trainees are inculcating these essential skills? 

Since 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) has supported innovations to promote the framework of Health Systems Science across the continuum of medical education. Recently, the AMA formed a multi-institutional team engaging leaders of undergraduate and graduate medical education programs to collaborate around assessing HSS competency for transition to residency. 

The team convened in June 2023. Early discussions acknowledged challenges to promoting and assessing HSS competency. The team has identified systems thinking and teaming as priority HSS competencies and is designing targeted assessments to bridge the transition from UME to GME in a standardized manner by multiple institutions across the United States. 

This presentation will provide a background in challenges and opportunities of assessing competency development in Health Systems Science. Shared assessment tools under design for the 2024 pilot phase will be described. 

Health Systems Science is the third pillar of medical education, complementing basic and clinical sciences. 

Assessment in the clinical learning environment of competency in Health Systems Science poses multiple challenges, which shared strategies can mitigate. 

A collaborative, inter-institutional development process supports assessment of Health Systems Science competency across the continuum, to optimize patient care. 

References (maximum three) 

Skochelak SE, Hammoud M, Lomis KD, Lawson LE, Starr SR, Borkan JM, Gonzalo JD. 2020. Health systems science. 2nd ed. Philadelphia (PA): Elsevier. 

https://www.ama-assn.org/education/changemeded-initiative/teaching-health-systems-science 

Gonzalo JD, Haidet P, Blatt B, Wolpaw DR. 2016. Exploring challenges in implementing a health systems science curriculum: a qualitative analysis of student perceptions. Med Educ. 50(5):523–531.