It seems that the AAMC, Khan Academy and the RWJF have teamed up to develop training videos for the new MCAT.  This unique partnership will solicit student-generated videos covering subject matter from the new MCAT.  The best submissions will receive an all expense paid trip to the Khan headquarters where they will receive individualized training from Khan Jedi Masters.  The hope is that this will spawn an abundance of original, organically generated video content to help the next generation of pre-meds navigate the new MCAT rolling out in 2015.

A couple of things that came to mind:

The AAMC sees the value of democratized media and alternative modes of learning.  This is significant.  And perhaps what’s evolving here in the pre-med quarters will percolate up to undergraduate medical education and GME.

The best material for the next generation of pre-med testing will never be owned by the test prep industry.  Applicants who previously lacked the resources to be competitive will stand a chance to be represented among those with the coin for test preparation.  Take that, Mr. Kaplan.

Seeing this kind of power partnership can only mean good things.

Three years ago I never would have predicted the collision course of Sal Khan, the AAMC and the RWJF.  Khan keynoted the AAMC this fall and the buzz following his presentation was deafening.  Based on the angle of that San Francisco meeting, it’s clear that the highest levels of education leadership know that we need a new way of preparing doctors.  And the vision of Khan and the RWJF may be just enough to begin to save medicine.  At the very least, they can look at an old problem a new way.

Perhaps I need to delete the post, Would Sal Khan Get Tenure in Academic Medicine?