Tel Aviv University Appoints Prof. Anat Gafter-Gvili to Lead Medical School, Plans AI Integration and Training Reform
Prof. Anat Gafter-Gvili, head of Internal Medicine A at Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Hospital), will assume the role of dean of the Tel Aviv University (TAU) Sackler Faculty of Medicine this September. She describes the appointment as a mission to educate the next generation of medical students, emphasizing the importance of combining clinical care, teaching, and research in medical training.
Gafter-Gvili aims to shorten the lengthy medical training pathway in Israel, which currently spans about 10 years from medical school through internship and specialization. She notes challenges with regulatory bodies like the Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budgeting Committee but stresses the need to condense and modernize the curriculum. Recent changes include shifting from purely frontal teaching to online classes and plans to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) tools into the curriculum to enhance learning efficiency and prepare students for future medical practice.
She highlights that AI will not replace doctors but can assist by reducing workload and generating ideas, so students must learn to use AI responsibly and critically. This approach requires rethinking medical education away from rote memorization toward critical thinking and resourcefulness.
Regarding the proposed gender segregation law in academia, Gafter-Gvili strongly opposes it, especially in medicine, where mixed-gender interaction is essential for clinical training. She calls such segregation discriminatory and impractical, emphasizing the importance of equality and diversity in medical education.
Gafter-Gvili also reflects on her career choice in internal medicine, a demanding specialty she proudly calls the "queen of medicine," noting its balance with family life and the absence of private practice pressures. She acknowledges the growing number of medical students in Israel, with TAU enrolling 400 students this year, and the opening of new medical schools to meet national demand. She stresses the importance of training doctors domestically to prevent brain drain, especially amid recent waves of emigration during political unrest and conflict.
Summary: Prof. Anat Gafter-Gvili will become dean of TAU's medical school in September, aiming to shorten medical training and integrate AI into education. She opposes gender segregation in medical academia and advocates for expanding and modernizing Israel's medical education to retain doctors locally.
