Spring 2022 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Family Doctors of the Future
In 2018, the Heritage College debuted its Transformative Care Continuum (TCC), an accelerated curriculum developed in partnership with Cleveland Clinic that鈥檚 training the family doctors of the future.
Isaac Miller, BSJ '22 | March 9, 2022
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Blake Kinsel, DO 鈥21, didn鈥檛 just graduate from 51社区 last May. He and seven fellow Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine graduates made history, becoming the firsts to complete a one-of-its-kind medical education program that immerses students in a clinical setting鈥攆rom day one of their training through residency鈥攁nd in the communities they serve.
In 2018, the Heritage College debuted its Transformative Care Continuum (TCC), an accelerated curriculum developed in partnership with Cleveland Clinic that鈥檚 training the family doctors of the future.
鈥淚n developing this program, we asked Cleveland Clinic: In a perfect world, what would primary care look like for them a decade from now, and how can we start training those physicians today?鈥 explains Isaac Kirstein, DO, dean of Heritage College, Cleveland.
The result? A curriculum that is transforming medical education and patient care.
鈥淭his innovative program transforms medical education by providing hands-on experience with patients and health care delivery teams to train future physicians in a dramatically different way and uniquely prepare them for 21st-century medicine,鈥 says James Young, MD, executive director of academic affairs at Cleveland Clinic. 鈥淗ealth care systems need more patient-centered solutions that engage social determinants of health and collaborate across traditional silos to improve health outcomes. These students will help us lead the way to healthier communities.鈥
TCC students are admitted into family medicine residency programs at Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Akron General or Lakewood Family Health Center before they even begin medical school. They spend the next three years completing the Heritage College鈥檚 curriculum while working alongside health care teams across the patient care continuum. After graduating medical school鈥攊n three years instead of four鈥攖hose students complete their formal three-year residencies at the same Cleveland Clinic sites.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just our faculty, not just the doctors at Cleveland Clinic. It鈥檚 the front desk staff, the pharmacists, the nurses, the care coordinators, the social workers. The entire team has become a part of our faculty,鈥 says Leanne Chrisman-Khawam, MD, MEd, assistant professor of social medicine and TCC director.
Working on the front lines of a health care system and directly with patients allows these students to identify areas of improvement in the system and social determinants of health.
The first cohort of eight students to complete the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine鈥檚 Transformative Care Continuum graduated in May 2021鈥攋ust three years after they started medical school rather than the traditional four. Photo courtesy of 51社区 Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
鈥淚t makes them leaders before they are doctors,鈥 Chrisman-Khawam says. 鈥淪o much of health care is actually not happening in the four walls of a hospital system or doctor鈥檚 office. It鈥檚 happening in the community.鈥
In the third year of the TCC, students complete research, quality improvement or programmatic projects they design in partnership with community organizations and aimed at addressing local health challenges.
For his project, Kinsel partnered with the LGBT Center of Cleveland and Doctors on the Streets, a program that provides health care to homeless individuals.
鈥淎fter going a few times to participate and see what resources are available to the individuals living in shelters, I noticed that resources for sexual health were severely lacking, particularly with regular STD/HIV screenings when people meet certain criteria to be deemed high risk,鈥 Kinsel explains.
Kinsel worked to expand point-of-care HIV testing and prevention services, reducing the barriers of accessing these health care needs by bringing them directly to the shelters. He received the Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee for his work.
Today, Kinsel is completing the first year of his residency at Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Lakewood Family Health Center.
鈥淏eing here for three years prior to the start of residency has been a huge plus,鈥 he says. 鈥淭here were many patients that I saw as a medical student who are now my patients. A lot of what I learned through the TCC and the experiences the program allowed me to do are what shaped who I am as a resident physician now.鈥
The TCC has positioned the Heritage College and Cleveland Clinic as leaders in reinventing primary care physician training. The Heritage College is one of 37 medical schools selected as members of the American Medical Association鈥檚 Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium.
鈥淔rom the earliest times, we started publishing our ideas about how we were going to create this innovative pathway,鈥 says Kirstein. 鈥淣ow, our work is recognized nationally.鈥
Feature image: Blake Kinsel, DO 鈥21, was one of eight students who are the firsts to complete the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine鈥檚 Transformative Care Continuum. Photo courtesy of Annie O鈥橬eill/Cleveland Clinic.
