From the President

The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation is the only national foundation solely dedicated to improving the education of health professionals. Its guiding principle is that health professional education has at its core a strong social mission: to serve the public’s needs and improve the health of the public.

Science and technology, the healthcare delivery system and the health needs of the public have changed significantly since 1930, when the Foundation was established. Health professions education has had to keep pace with these changes, constantly evolving in order to produce successful practitioners and leaders for tomorrow.

These changes continue unabated, and health professional education must continue to change too. Being a doctor, nurse, or other health professional is a different job than it was in past decades, and it will change even more in the decades ahead.

We must continue to stimulate innovation and improve the education of future health care professionals. We must continue to ensure our future health care providers, strengthened by being a part of a team of health professionals, have the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are needed to address health care disparities and improve the health of all people across the nation. And we must ensure our health professional schools and training programs foster diversity and inclusion among the health care workforce.

This requires nurturing students and faculty to ensure excellence in teaching, learning and patient care, and working with our partners in the education and health care delivery communities to better align training and practice.

Founded by Kate Macy Ladd in memory of her father, prominent businessman Josiah Macy Jr., the Foundation supports projects that broaden and improve health professional education. We are delighted to be part of the continuing enterprise keeping health professional education current with and responsive to the public’s needs.

After all, what could be more exciting than shaping future generations of health professionals for a world in which they will provide collaborative, cost-effective and coordinated care that optimizes the health of individuals and of our diverse nation?

Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP