Academic Medicine. 92(12):1671–1673, DEC 2017
DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001987
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PMID: 29019801
Issn Print: 1040-2446
Publication Date: 2017/12/01
Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together: The Gold Foundation’s Model for Research-Based Advocacy in Humanism in Medicine
Elizabeth Gaufberg;
+ Author Information
E. Gaufberg is associate professor of medicine and psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Jean and Harvey Picker Director, Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and director, Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Professional Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts; ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0903-6048.
Abstract
Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together (MTL) is an initiative of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute. The MTL initiative awards teams with a grant to complete a rigorous review of the literature on a topic related to humanism in health care. Teams may then seek a discovery or advocacy grant to fill in gaps in knowledge or to make or advocate for change. In this Commentary, the author reveals the MTL journey through the metaphor of cartography. She describes the initial development of a road map, as well as the MTL community’s experience of navigation, discovery, and exploration. MTL participants are not only incrementally adding to a complex body of knowledge but also actively cultivating a robust community of practice.
