Penn’s medical school received an $8 million gift to redesign the way it trains doctors
Funded by Perelman School of Medicine graduate Rod Wong, the project aims to create a precision learning program by integrating technology, AI, and data at a time of rapid change in medicine.
The University of Pennsylvania has received an $8 million gift to redesign how it trains doctors at the Perelman School of Medicine, Penn officials announced Thursday.
Incorporating technology, AI, and data to create customized learning pathways for Penn medical students is an overarching goal. The effort comes at a time when increasingly easy access to medical information and changes in care delivery are leading medical schools nationwide to revamp their curricula.
The gift to Penn is from New York-based RTW Foundation, a philanthropy associated with the life sciences investment firm founded by Perelman School graduate and Penn Medicine board member Rod Wong. Penn said the gift from Wong, and his wife, Marti Speranza Wong, is the largest single donation to support curriculum innovation at the medical school, which dates to 1765.
“I believe medical innovation is the key to life being better in the future than it is today,” Wong said in a statement. “And as science accelerates, to train physicians for the future, so should education,” said Wong, who is managing partner and chief investment officer at RTW Investments LP.
The vast majority of the $8 million gift will go toward hiring data scientists and engineers, supporting faculty, and building and acquiring the platforms needed to deliver the new curriculum.
Examples of how technology will be incorporated into new training techniques include using augmented or virtual reality to assist in learning anatomy, developing knowledge needed to diagnose illnesses and develop treatment plans, and mastering clinical skills such as IV placement and suturing.
For example, students can practice taking a person’s medical history or doing a physical exam on a virtual patient, while an AI agent is there to give feedback in real time.
“It’s really adaptive to the individual learner, but you do it at your own pace, on your own time,” said Lisa Bellini, executive vice dean of the medical school and a leader on the project.
The redesign will take place over the next three years as school leaders consult with stakeholders and work on building the platform.
Some of Wong’s gift will be used to create a biannual endowed lecture in business and entrepreneurship that will bring leaders in medicine and healthcare innovation to campus. The gift will also establish the Roderick Wong Entrepreneurship Pathway, which will provide mentorship, workshops, and project-based learning to students with business interests.
The Perelman School of Medicine is embarking on its curriculum revamp at time when medical education is evolving at many schools, even in terms of how candidates are evaluated for admission. The personal side of medicine is an emphasis of the empathy scores that have taken their place alongside MCAT results.
Some medical schools have concentrated the traditional two years spent learning science into one year to give students more time to learn how to be doctors in terms of interacting with patients and collaborating with other medical professionals.
A three-year medical school option is offered at institutions such as the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine to speed doctors into the clinic and reduce students’ debt loads.
This is a developing story and will be updated.