The Importance of Education—and 10,000 Hours

Here it is October, 2024, and school is back in session and college, and professional football are in full swing. I mention school as this is where the foundation of our societies continues to be built. I cannot stress enough the importance of education and training. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are key attributes to solving problems and impacting a nation’s economic prosperity. As an emeritus professor in a large Midwestern university college of medicine, I see firsthand the thirst and insatiable desire of young women and men to learn. While not all will go into STEM careers, those who do will change the world through innovation and discovery. They learn from the faculty and the experiences during their academic training.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, ¹ he posits that to be really good at something, it takes more the 10,000 h of practice—his 10,000-h rule. This rule is further elucidated by Wong in his piece on surgical residency. ² While this will undoubtedly vary depending on the task(s) and complexity of the task(s) and the problem, it serves as a benchmark for creating a knowledge base from which change can happen. Over these past several years, our community at large has seen a meteoric rise in the integration and utilization of telemedicine and telehealth. Many have certainly been successful in this endeavor due to need, perseverance and most likely 10s of thousands of hours of practice and utilization.

To be sure, this does not necessarily mean perfection or even quality. For example, you might practice your golf swing for years only to find out you had bad form. This is where education and training come in. Telemedicine and telehealth are not conveyed as an apprenticeship (i.e., watch me, follow me and do it my way), it is a learned skill and construct based on some pedagogy and experience.

Competitiveness in corporations and nations requires investment and commitment. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the United States’ proficiency in STEM has been in decline since the 1980s. ³ The vital skills needed begin in the early years of education and are fostered through the individuals entire academic journey and life experiences.

Innovation in health care and all aspects of society is of great importance. In Flessa and Huebner’s piece on innovations in health care, they discuss innovation as a source of human development and improvement in the quality of life. ⁴ They discuss a framework of technology readiness and its scalability from (1) knowledge development, (2) technology development, and (d) business development. This traces technology readiness level (TRL) 1 to TRL 9, where level 9 is operational. This construct involves everyone to be on the same page and understand common terminology and the overall objectives. Invariably different disciplines are educated differently. This is a perceived and a factual condition. In a book I edited with NASA, editors and authors address this. ⁵ The disciplines of engineering, basic and fundamental sciences, and human health as well as management must be on the same page to (1) minimize risk, (2) ensure safety and (3) be successful.

The importance of education, including common standards must be at the forefront of any nation’s policies. Concomitant with a strong public health sector, success is nearly guaranteed! To do so, one must be involved and not a bystander!