Practical Considerations
Translation and implementation of a combined engineering-medical school model to other institutions has challenges. At our institution, tuition and stipends were grant-funded for participating students, and similar resources may not be available at other programs. Institutions may opt for fundraising initiatives specifically aimed at previous graduates with contributions to medical innovation. However, lack of funding does not preclude the ability to implement a joint engineering-medical school track. Other dual-degree curriculums, including Master of Public Health (MPH) or Business Administration (MBA) programs, may not have built-in tuition waivers or stipends but are still pursued by medical students looking for a transdisciplinary education. Alternatively, institutions without similar resources may develop a shorter and less intensive experience such as an elective, clerkship, or seminar experience.
Essential to a joint program is a partnership with an established engineering department. Our experience has underlined the importance of a combined organization or committee, such as the IEM, to formalize the relationship that are composed of both medical school and engineering faculty. The joint committee enables effective instantiation and oversight of a medical-engineering program. This, in fact, may encourage further collaboration between medical and engineering units across institutions. Medical schools without an existing collaboration should consider agreements that would allow medical students to complete their engineering degree at neighboring universities or consider online-learning.
The prerequisites of advanced mathematics and physics coursework are necessary for students to successfully complete upper-division technical coursework. However, there is a growing focus at our institution on enrolling medical students with non-technical backgrounds who may not satisfy this requirement. Structured opportunities to complete mathematics and/or physics prerequisites during the first or second year of medical school can successfully address limitations and allow students early exposure to core engineering concepts.
The most substantial challenge has been filling the program position allotment which relates to student interest and program visibility. Two of the ten previous years did not enroll any students into the program while four additional years had only one participant. These observations underscore that many physician trainees may not be interested in a joint engineering-medical education, likely due to an additional year commitment or goals that do not align with engineering or innovation. This supports our program implementation as a separate, elective pathway from traditional medical education. Nonetheless, our program has continued to enhance visibility by highlighting former participants, holding information sessions, and ensuring the program design and implementation has been communicated with all perspective students. A physician faculty position was added specifically for IEM outreach responsible for representation of innovation opportunities to the medical school. These adjustments were made within the past two years leading to five of six positions being filled potentially indicating an increase in interest.