Academic medical centers have faced several challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are now looking ahead to consider which pivots should become permanent changes and how to stabilize operations in the future.
At the Becker's Healthcare Academic Medical Centers Virtual Forum on Sept. 25, AMC experts and executives gathered to share their insights in five informative panels. Click here to view the panels on demand.
Here are five takeaways from the event.
1. During the next decade, executives of academic medical centers will need to keep up with more services shifting from inpatient to outpatient facilities and watch for technology that could transform care delivery. These two shifts will alter what AMCs will look like and how they will function in the future.
2. COVID-19 will be around for quite a while, so AMCs must focus on making patients feel safe while receiving care and support exhausted and stressed employees. They are also involved in research around COVID-19 testing and treatments, with innovation in mind.
3. There is significant pressure on clinical resources during the pandemic and AMCs are balancing their teaching mission with clinical care by graduating patients early when possible so they can start practicing with support. AMCs are also removing trainees from rotations and redeploying them into other services, such as telemedicine.
4. To ensure students feel safe and supported during the COVID-19 pandemic, many academic medical centers, nursing and medical schools are recognizing the value of students developing strong personal relationships with academic advisors, clinical instructors and unit managers. Transparency and strong communication also emerged as key tenets of promoting effective learning environments.
5. AMCs are using this challenging year to learn from colleagues across the country and incorporate best practices learned during the pandemic back into their workflow.