American Medical Association and American Osteopathic Association credit systems: accomplishing dual credit for a conference.

The need for collaboration in medical education is increasingly evident as allopathic and osteopathic physician communities continue to train physicians cooperatively. Therefore, ventures that hold dual accreditation in continuing medical education (CME) have increasing appeal to both physician groups. The Berkshire Medical Conference, a nationally accredited CME activity held annually in western Massachusetts and cosponsored by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Berkshire Medical Center, and Berkshire Area Health Education Center, offered dual accreditation to allopathic and osteopathic physicians for the first time in its 16-year history. This dually accredited conference is the first such collaborative venture in the region. The specific criteria for accreditation for both physician groups were fulfilled, and the content also proved to be equally relevant. Evaluations indicated that learning objectives were met and the collaboration was successful in terms of the information learned by and about each group of physicians. As collaborative CME activities develop in the medical community, it is hoped that the lessons learned from the 16th Annual Berkshire Medical Conference, "Collaborations in Medicine," will serve as a model for future conferences and cooperative ventures between allopathic and osteopathic physicians.

The Virginia generalist initiative: lessons learned in a statewide consortium.

In response to Virginia's need for an increased supply of generalist physicians, the state's three medical schools--Eastern Virginia Medical School, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, and the University of Virginia School of Medicine--have formed a partnership with key governmental stakeholders in the Virginia Generalist Initiative funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Generalist Physician Initiative. These state-supported medical schools historically have functioned independently, with little cooperative effort. This paper describes the consortium, its activities, its successes, and its unmet objectives, and uses a series of cases in point to illustrate relevant lessons learned. Some of these lessons are that (1) stakeholders must be involved from the beginning of planning to identify mutual goals and establish consortium protocols; (2) all partners must share a philosophical commitment to the consortium's mission, as well as the time and resources needed; (3) an atmosphere that enables risk-taking behavior must be created; (4) stakeholders must be willing to revise goals and sustain an environment conductive to change; and (5) trust is essential and must be vigilantly maintained. The paper concludes that the Virginia Generalist Initiative has dramatically altered the goals, objectives and programs of the three schools and has succeeded in aligning the schools' strategic objectives with the state's priorities.