Chronic Disease Management

Abstract

Medical practice must adapt to changes in the nature of diseases and population demographics. The need to prepare doctors-in-training to manage chronic disease is assuming increasing importance as the prevalence of such diseases rise throughout the world. Medical education has traditionally lagged behind changes in clinical practice. Recent advances in medical education include the development of problem-based approaches and the teaching of evidence-based medicine. Medical training, however, continues to focus on the treatment of acute illness in a younger population. This focus potentially perpetuates problems in knowledge translation, the transfer of clinical knowledge into clinical practice. There is an urgent need to refocus medical training on conditions of greater relevance and prevalence, and to prepare medical graduates for the challenges of chronic disease management. In particular, students need to be given the skills to integrate knowledge across disciplines and to work as part of an interdisciplinary team. Adapting medical training to address chronic disease management must be the new priority in medical education.