U.S. STARS Program To Launch With a Medical Student Summit

Later this year, the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin will launch the U.S. STARS (Students and Trainees Advocating for Resource Stewardship) program with the goal of creating better health outcomes for patients at lower costs.

ABIM Foundation and the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation will support the initiative, which will select and gather 50 student leaders from across the country to coach them on the tenets of value-based care and review medical society Choosing Wisely recommendations. Students will learn about creating local and regional change in the areas of medical waste and overuse and drive change at their medical schools to improve the value of patient care.

The STARS program will kick off with a one-day summit for first-year medical students at the Dell Medical School on Dec. 2, 2017. The summit will include large-group sessions, workshops and informal networking. Following the summit, medical students will be invited to participate in an online community where they can share stories of success and challenges.

The U.S. STARS program will mirror the successful STARS program started in 2015 by Choosing Wisely Canada with support from the ABIM Foundation. STARS is becoming an international movement, with the Netherlands recently launching its own program.

Read more about STARS, including thoughts from leaders at Dell Medical School, ABIM Foundation and The Macy Foundation.