I have the privilege of teaching in the Capstone Course, the last class at Yale School of Medicine for graduating medical students. This year, a week before Match Day, when students learn where they will be going for their postgraduate training, Tiffany Hu, MD, MSCR, and I taught a session titled “What Matters Most: Complex Decision-Making in the Setting of Uncertainty."
No matter what specialty graduating students pursue, they will be caring for patients aged 65 and older, either at work or at home. This class incorporates training in the 4Ms framework (What Matters Most, Mentation, Mobility, Medication) and Patient Priorities Care, an approach to care that helps older adults and health professionals identify and align care with What Matters Most.
Students have commented that, given the popularity of artificial intelligence, there is value in asking and listening to what matters most to our patients. It is wonderful to hear from the next generation of physicians.