Nearly 40 legislators and legislative aids from the state of Michigan gathered last week for Project Medical Education, a program developed to showcase the value of medical education to Michigan 's health-care system.

The program, a partnership of the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education, is designed to provide policymakers with an accurate background that will empower them to make sound decisions about Graduate Medical Education. These decisions, in turn, affect Michigan 's medical schools, affiliated teaching hospitals and the people they serve. As part of the two-day event, legislators participated in on-site learning experiences that illustrate the critical value of supporting the educational environment within the health-care system.

Legislators got a first-hand look at things like a medical resident's clinical morning report, clinic patient schedule and rounds. Legislators had a chance to personally interact privately with medical students and residents, to ask them questions and to hear about their concerns.