Novel Innovation Curriculum in Internal Medicine Residency Training

Innovation in medicine places the needs of our patients first by developing new solutions to healthcare challenges; however, formal education in innovation has not been previously established in Internal Medicine (IM) residency training programs. A novel innovation curriculum was implemented in the IM residency training program at an academic medical institution in the southeastern United States during the academic year 2022-2023.

The innovation curriculum was divided into three phases: Inspire, Acquire, Apply. The Inspire phase included presentations by innovators sharing their journey. The Acquire phase included presentations to help take an idea to implementation, including artificial intelligence (AI), three-dimensional (3D) printing, patents, and entrepreneurship. The Apply phase supported residents in implementing their own innovative project or idea, including preparation for local think tanks and engagement with institutional resources. Interactive presentations were scheduled during noon conference, which all residents were scheduled to regularly attend. A precurriculum survey was obtained before implementation to assess residents' baseline knowledge and experience in medical innovation, and a postcurriculum survey was obtained at the end of 1 academic year to assess resident perspective and knowledge after one cycle of the curriculum experience.

At baseline, the majority of residents had never received formal education in innovation or entrepreneurship in medicine or patent filing. Few reported formal education on AI, 3D printing, virtual reality hardware/software, or medical application development. All respondents believed that innovation is important to clinical practice, and the majority believed that knowledge in innovation and entrepreneurship is important to being a well-rounded physician.

IM residents identified innovation as an important aspect of clinical training, yet they had limited exposure to and confidence in their knowledge and application of innovation and entrepreneurship in medicine. A curriculum dedicated to teaching innovation during IM training is important and can address this unmet need. Based on resident survey feedback, this curriculum has been adjusted to increase teaching in AI as well as expand the individual mentorship model for residents interested in taking their innovative idea to implementation.