The Macy Initiatives in Health Communication

Drawing upon an existing regional network of medical schools participating in a consortium known as the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Community Faculty Development Center, the UMASS team has selected Brown and Boston University to participate in an eight-month pilot project to develop and test modules for the proposed Macy Mentorship Program in Health Communications. Eight more medical schools will be enrolled for the second phase, from September 2004 through December 2005, prior to evaluation of the program. Other members of the consortium are Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, University of Vermont, Tufts, CUNY, University of Connecticut, SUNY-Albany, New York Medical College and University of New England College of Medicine.

A team of “change agents” will be identified within each participating school. These team members first will expand their own knowledge and skills in health communication education, then develop, implement and evaluate a program to enhance health communication training in their own institution. The year-long training program for teams from the enrolled schools will involve three two-day workshops, held approximately four months apart, supplemented by consultations and other activities between workshops. Each workshop will cover innovative educational methods and communications curriculum content, as well as approaches for faculty development.

During the periods between the workshops, faculty from UMass will conduct activities to meet the specific needs of each institution’s plan for enhancing training in communications. Teams will also gather data needed for program evaluation. Those data will be entered in a central data bank at UMASS and will provide the basis for objective assessment.