Seeking reform paths in medical education from the revelation of Global Commission Report on Lancet

The Lancet publication of the Global Independent Commission Report on Education of Health Professionals for the 21st Century at the centennial of Flexner Report is a happy turning point in the history of medicine, and shall reset the future of health professionals education. This report made a compelling argument that it is time to carry out third-generation reform in the training of healthcare professionals, and pointed out that despite many impressive innovations that educators have adopted since the Flexner Revolution of 1910, medical education is not yet perfectly aligned with societal needs. The Commission therefore emphasized the realization of transformative learning and interdependence in education through a system approach to institutional and instructional reforms. In this article, in order to answer what kind of health professionals is needed to solve the contemporary and future health problem of society, and to understand what the current medical education and training programs are producing. The authors attempt to reveal some core medical educational notion from this report and their implications for medical education by studying the report as mentioned. Finally, the authors offer some recommendations and paths for advancing third-generation reform including integrating needs assessment into medical curriculum development; innovations that are compatible with mission and goals; making action research to meet the need of stakeholders, and building a sound environment.