Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess, Mount Auburn Institute for Education and Research (The Institute)
The Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess, Mount Auburn Institute for Education and Research was founded in 1996 to facilitate collaborative planning, management, and innovation for education and research programs in a large academic medical center and network of clinical institutions. The Institute, a separately-incorporated, non-profit organization, advances the teaching and research activities of Harvard Medical School faculty based at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Mount Auburn Hospital, and other institutions in the CareGroup network. The Institute has developed processes to evaluate proposals and award "seed" grants for collaborative initiatives in both clinical education and biomedical research.

In clinical education, a major effort funded by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation is underway to develop a series of multi-media "virtual" patients that reflect the core clinical curriculum for third- and fourth-year medical students. In the area of faculty development, the Institute has initiated a medical education fellowship that involves a half-time commitment to clinical work, with the balance focused on a curriculum in medical education. In addition to an independent research project in medical education, the fellows are engaged in a curriculum that addresses historical and contemporary issues in medical education--its evolution and its financing; skills needed in curriculum development, design, and evaluation; adult learning and the acquisition of teaching skills in both inpatient and ambulatory arenas; organizational and academic skills; relevance of the humanities in medical education; and, perhaps most importantly, the "skills" of self-renewal.

On the research front, the Institute's focus is on fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations between faculty in the basic science departments at Harvard Medical School and the faculty in the clinical departments at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, thereby facilitating the clinical application of advances in molecular and cellular biology and genetics. This approach will enhance CareGroup's research mission and foster medical discoveries that benefit patients.

The Institute's offices are located in the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Center for Clinical Education (CCE) in the lobby of the medical center's ambulatory care center. Serving as a "home base" for Harvard Medical students enrolled in clerkships at Beth Israel Deaconess, the CCE includes a study area/lounge with computer workstations featuring databases and multimedia education programs; videoconferencing and telemedicine set-ups; a classroom; and a conference/tutorial room.

For more information about the Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess, Mount Auburn Institute for Education and Research, call 617-667-9120.

Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
New England Baptist Hospital, a founding member of CareGroup, is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine. Founded in 1852, Tufts University is world-renowned for its teaching, scholarship, and research. The school of medicine has created many innovative and influential programs in medical education over the years, and was a pioneer in combining traditional teaching methods with problem-based learning. The establishment of Tufts' Center of Learning promotes quality and consistency for all medical school educational activities, provides a center of excellence that will unite and strengthen Tufts teaching activities, and acts as a catalyst for curricular innovation, evaluation, and research at all levels of medical training. The Tufts School of Medicine affiliation furthers CareGroup's commitment to education and research.

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