Training millennial healthcare workforce must incorporate the generation's values

Training the next generation of healthcare providers requires an understanding of how millennial values and favored approaches are transforming the industry, according to Becker's Hospital Review.

Millennials are already driving numerous trends in healthcare consumerism, and in training them, medical educators must incorporate the concepts and values at the center of their mindset, Vivian Lee, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the University of Utah School of Medicine, told Becker's. These values include patient-centered, data-driven approaches and transparency, Lee said, and the best examples of such values in action can be found in companies outside the healthcare sector.

For example, Yelp's popularity demonstrates the value millennials place in broadly crowd-sourced consumer feedback. This led the university to launch a site offering starred reviews of physicians in 2012. Indeed, an April study found Yelp reviews are more accurate gauges of patient experience than patient satisfaction surveys, FierceHealthcare previously reported.  

Similarly, Delta Air Lines served as a model for the university with its devotion to customer convenience. Delta's app allowing customers to buy tickets, check in and download boarding passes was the basis for initiatives at University of Utah that allow patients to schedule appointments online or view test results, communicate with doctors or refill prescriptions. "It's really not that impressive when you consider how the rest of life is, but for us it was really transformational," Lee told Becker's.

FitBit has also been instructive in its provision of comprehensive data to consumers. University of Utah incorporated this principle into its patient satisfaction transparency efforts, allowing doctors access not only to patient satisfaction data but information on every aspect of patients' stays, according to the article. The university also offers a process improvement portal featuring a platform that allows residents to create and launch individual improvement initiatives. 

To learn more:
- read the Becker's article