The Learning Hospital

The Harvard Macy Institute Podcast aims to connect our Harvard Macy Institute community and to develop our interest in health professions education topics and literature. Our podcast is hosted by our Program for Educators in the Health Professions course faculty Victoria Brazil, and will feature interviews with health professions education authors and their research papers.

How do we train and transform our teams and our systems for better patient care in the 21st century? What is the role of simulation, of interprofessional learning, and of integrating education with workforce development in large healthcare institutions?

Jim Gordon and his team at Massachusetts General Hospital are meeting that challenge head on in a major new initiative, including a simulation based Learning Hospital.

In this conversation, Jim Gordon shares his approach to being Chief Learning Officer at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He talks about the challenges and opportunities of connecting pockets of educational excellence in large organizations and of meaningfully bringing interprofessional teams together to train and learn together.

The conversation was prompted by the announcement of a $50 million philanthropic gift to support these endeavors at MGH, including a Learning Academy and a Learning Hospital – a physical re-creation of multiple departments in the hospital to allow cross department team training. Exciting times for Jim and his team and opportunities to learn from others doing great work on building teams and systems for 21st century healthcare.

Victoria Brazil, MD (Educators, ’05, Leaders ’07, Assessment ‘10) is Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Simulation at Bond University Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine. Her research interests include podcasting and simulation, and she is co-producer of Simulcast - a podcast about health care simulation. Victoria can be followed on Twitter.