With this appointment, VU Amsterdam is investing in the development of a future-proof medical education program that brings together science, technology, social responsibility, and patient-centered care.
Healthcare is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and new medical innovations offer great opportunities, but they also present future doctors with new challenges. How do you use AI responsibly in the exam room? How do you assess the reliability of digital information? And how do you ensure that technological progress goes hand in hand with human care, ethics, and social responsibility?
Tommy Pattij's new chair focuses on these issues and explores how future doctors can be optimally prepared for a rapidly changing healthcare practice.
Training Doctors for Tomorrow’s Healthcare
Central to the chair is the question of how medical students can develop the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking necessary in a world where technology plays an increasingly important role.
The chair focuses on integrating digital skills, data analysis, and artificial intelligence into medical education. This involves not only technical knowledge but also addressing how future healthcare professionals can responsibly handle patient data, privacy, ethical dilemmas, and the limitations of technology.
“Technology will play an increasingly important role in healthcare, but ultimately, people remain responsible for medical decisions,” said Pattij. “That is why future doctors must not only understand how technology works, but also when they can rely on it and when human judgment must take precedence.”
AI as an Opportunity for Better Care
A key focus of the chair is developing educational programs on the responsible use of generative AI. Students learn how to use AI to search for medical information, analyze data, and support clinical decision-making.
At the same time, the chair is investigating how medical programs can prevent students from becoming overly reliant on technology or failing to think critically enough. By combining scientific research with educational innovation, VU Amsterdam aims to contribute to a new generation of healthcare professionals who can use AI in a safe, effective, and people-centered way.
Health in a Changing World
In addition to digitization, the chair focuses on a second major societal challenge: the relationship between health and the living environment. The theme of planetary health occupies a prominent place in the curriculum. This involves examining the consequences of climate change, environmental pollution, and biodiversity loss for public health.
Future doctors are prepared for health issues that are increasingly linked to global developments. By integrating these themes into the curriculum early on, VU Amsterdam aims to train doctors who are mindful not only of individual patients but also of broader societal and ecological factors that influence health.
Co-development with Students and Healthcare Partners
A distinctive feature of this approach is the close collaboration with students, healthcare institutions, and societal partners. New teaching methods are developed, tested, and refined collaboratively. As a result, innovations are better aligned with healthcare practice and the needs of future professionals.
Hospitals and other healthcare organizations are also increasingly turning to the chair’s expertise for issues related to AI and digitization in both education and practice.
Contributing to Health for All
The chair aligns with the ambition of VU Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC to contribute to health for all. This requires healthcare professionals who not only possess medical knowledge but are also able to navigate societal changes, technological innovations, and complex ethical issues.
With this appointment, the VU underscores the importance of education as a driver of social change. By linking scientific research, technological innovation, and academic training, the chair aims to contribute to a new generation of physicians who are prepared for the healthcare of the future.