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Building the future health workforce: outreach pathways and the Holistic Ecosystem Model
Leila Amiri1, Jonathan J Wisco2, Bei Zhang1
1Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States.
Frontiers in Medicine
|July 23, 2026
Summary
Addressing healthcare workforce shortages requires systemic strategies. Expanding access to medical education through coordinated outreach, not piecemeal efforts, is key to strengthening healthcare systems globally.
Area of Science:
- Health professions education
- Healthcare systems strengthening
- Medical outreach initiatives
Background:
- Global healthcare faces persistent workforce shortages and educational access inequities.
- Expanding participation in health professions education is vital for improving population health.
- Current outreach initiatives often yield limited success due to fragmented approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze outreach initiatives for health professions education using the Holistic Ecosystem Model (HES).
- To examine the systemic factors influencing pathways into medicine across diverse international contexts.
- To identify effective strategies for coordinated, ecosystem-level interventions.
Main Methods:
- Application of the Holistic Ecosystem Model (HES) as an analytical framework.
- Examination of outreach initiatives in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore.
- Analysis of four interacting layers: learner pathway, educational structures, institutional systems, and community/policy environments.
Main Results:
- Piecemeal interventions for medical education outreach are often ineffective.
- A systemic, ecosystem-level perspective is crucial for successful outreach.
- Coordinated strategies addressing multiple layers of the HES framework show greater promise.
Conclusions:
- The Holistic Ecosystem Model provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and improving health professions education outreach.
- Systemic, coordinated strategies are essential to overcome healthcare workforce shortages and educational inequities.
- Future interventions should focus on integrated approaches across learner, institutional, and policy environments.
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