Opinion: Medical schools must prepare tomorrow’s doctors for yesterday’s diseases

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Source: STAT News

Original: https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/12/medical-school-vaccine-preventable-diseases/...

Published: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Medical schools must change the way they teach vaccine-preventable diseases because these diseases are returning to the population.[1] Until now, medical students have mainly learned to memorize vaccination schedules and identify symptoms in exams, which is no longer enough.[1] Future physicians need to understand how these diseases manifest in real patients, how quickly they progress, and how catastrophic their consequences are—including neurological injury, long-term intensive care, infertility, permanent disability, and death.[1] Traditional education based on passive exposure in hospitals and clinics is insufficient when diseases are rare or re-emerging.[1] Medical schools should use simulation training to manage epidemics and clinical complications, as well as case studies following unvaccinated patients from the outpatient clinic to hospitalization.[1] Students need to understand not only what recommendations say, but also how they are made through evidence, independent processes, and post-market surveillance.[1] If preventable diseases continue to return, today's students will become the future first responders in healthcare.[1]