Goals and Objectives for the MD Curriculum

INTRODUCTION

The MD curriculum must reflect the best thinking of our faculty, as informed by national and international trends and experts.  Its goals, which are to facilitate the learning of our students, must be consistent with the expectations of postgraduate medical educators and licensing and accrediting bodies, and responsive to the public trust.  In order to achieve these goals, the faculty and students must together establish a mutually supportive learning community--an educational partnership from which both can benefit and to which both must contribute.

The over-arching goal will be the graduation of physicians with the requisite general knowledge, skills, and attitudes to advance to the next stage of their clinical training and to be able to continue to learn and grow as professionals thereafter.  Through continued training and focused learning in postgraduate education, they will ultimately acquire the ability to function responsibly and independently as licensed physicians and attain board certification in their chosen specialties.  They will be genuinely devoted to caring for their patients in a scientifically competent, compassionate and humane manner; will be committed to following, and if possible contributing to the advancement of, medical science; and in their areas of work, will be able to function successfully in the diverse roles expected of physicians:  those of medical expert, scholar, communicator, collaborator, health advocate, manager, and professional.

Description of the Process by which these Goals were developed:

Implementation and evaluation of our curriculum are the responsibilities of the faculty, acting through the Committee on Undergraduate Medical Curricula of the Medical Center Faculty Senate.  (See Charge of the Committee on Undergraduate Medical Curricula.)  This body has previously developed a number of statements describing the education program, foremost among which is the document "Criteria for Development of Curricular Content."  This document  received extensive examination and comment by the Faculty and its governance organization.  These objectives will inform and be the basis for the ongoing process of curricular enhancement and renewal, and will serve as the foundation for both student and program evaluation.

ASSUMPTIONS

• The educational program should be designed to facilitate the student's development of an increasingly complex, integrated understanding of the interplay between basic biomedical and psychosocial scientific knowledge, analytical problem-solving, and clinical reasoning.   The achievement of this understanding requires that the four-year curriculum be designed in an integrated manner that demonstrates and reinforces the intimate relationship between basic science and clinical practice
  
• Insofar as possible, the education program should represent realistic and relevant challenges and should take place in realistic training settings that reflect the students' likely future practice settings.
  
• The system of evaluation should provide students with a sense of expectations, regular feedback on their performance, and opportunities to remedy deficiencies.  The process of student assessment should reflect and support the following educational goals by measuring student performance and acquisition of requisite knowledge, skills, and behaviors with appropriate objective assessment technology.
  
• The system of curriculum evaluation should furnish the faculty with useful data for evaluating the instructional program.
  
• The school has a responsibility to respect society's expectations and demands for physician performance and should produce physicians who are appropriately prepared both to achieve successful professional careers and to serve society's needs.
  
• The school has a responsibility to support the educational programs through the provision of adequate human and material resources and assure the quality of the curriculum through adequate faculty development and program evaluation.

I.  Professional Attitudes and Behaviors

Each graduate must acquire and demonstrate the following attitudes and behaviors both during the undergraduate education years and in subsequent professional training and practice:

A.  A Patient-Centered Role

A reverence for life, compassion for those who suffer, a commitment to care for those who need help, and a dedication to pursuing shared decision making with patients

B.  Scientific Integrity

An understanding and acceptance of the scientific method as fundamental to learning and functioning as a physician

C.  Ethical Behavior

The highest ethical behavior in the discharge of professional duties, including understanding and application of [the basic ethical tenets of] beneficence, nonmaleficence, confidentiality, autonomy, justice, fidelity, and truthfulness 

D.  Professional Behavior

1. An understanding and acceptance of professional responsibilities, and adherence to the highest professional standards, and, as a student, adherence to the School's Honor Code
   
2. An awareness of the limits of one's intellectual and technical abilities
   
3. A willingness to monitor the behavior and competence of professional peers and to deal appropriately with inadequate or unethical behavior, evidence of impairment, unprofessional practice, and conflict of interest
   
4. Acceptance of the professional responsibility to teach colleagues, patients, and the public about health and medical issues

E.  Dedication to Continuous Learning

A deep appreciation for the continuing advance of scientific knowledge, a commitment to life-long learning, and the ability to incorporate that learning into future practice and behavior.

Each graduate must acquire and demonstrate a core knowledge base. The focus of education should be on achieving the level of understanding and mastery of detail that the undifferentiated medical school graduate can incorporate and retain as part of the working knowledge required to pursue further postgraduate training.  (The scope of this knowledge is difficult to define precisely.  However, the "Criteria for the Development of Curricular Content" defines processes and considerations for developing and testing the scope of material presented.)

The graduate should demonstrate the acquisition and understanding of  relevant knowledge from the following fundamental knowledge domains:

• Biomedical Sciences
• Social and Behavioral Science
• Communication Science
• Decision Science
• Epidemiological (Population) Science
• Information Science

III.  Skills 

Each graduate must acquire and demonstrate the skills essential to effectively assume the responsibilities necessary for advancement to the next level of education and training.

A.  Data Acquisition Skills

1. Care of Individual Patients

a.  Skills to sensitively and thoroughly elicit and understand a patient's history, problems, and concerns

b.  Skills to perform a screening and, where appropriate, a focused physical examination in order to elucidate underlying manifestations of abnormal anatomy and physiology

c.  Skills to select appropriate laboratory, radiologic, and other clinical studies to better understand the patients' problems

d.  Skills in using text, electronic, and consultant information to broaden the understanding of the patient based on initial data acquisition 

  2.  Care of Populations

a.  Skills to acquire relevant information about the health of patient populations or communities

b.  Skills to utilize this information to understand the needs of communities and plan appropriate interventions in support of population health 

B.  Data Analysis Skills

1. Ability to integrate basic knowledge with material gleaned from patient interactions
   
2. Ability to critically read the medical literature and be aware of the application and limitations of the information under consideration
   
3. Ability to manipulate previously learned knowledge in order to apply it to the patient or population at hand

C.  Communication Skills

1. Ability to record a history and physical exam, and to include a coherent and intelligible discussion of the patient's problems and a plan for further evaluation and treatment
   
2. Ability to inform the patient and his/her representatives about the status of the patient's health and condition and explain available options for further care
   
3. Ability to transmit to all other providers, information about the patient so they can participate in the patient's care
   
4. Ability to communicate, negotiate and resolve conflicts within health care teams, and to lead when appropriate, while remaining cognizant, respectful, and appreciative of the contributions of all 

D .  Technical Skills

1. Ability to do common and routine clinical procedures and tasks
   
2. Ability to search and use electronic data bases, email, word processing equipment, and an electronic medical record
   

E.  Teaching Skills

1. An understanding of adult learning principles and the ability to monitor their ongoing learning process
   
2. Ability to effectively facilitate the learning processes of their patients, colleagues, and communities 
   

F.  Skills for Evidence-Based Medical Practice and Medical Decision Making

1. Ability to apply critical appraisal skills and understanding to assess the effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions
   
2. Ability to apply the appropriate components of health promotion and disease prevention interventions in the care of individual patients and populations of patients
   
3. An ability to assess relevant outcomes of clinical care
   
4. An  understanding of  the role of uncertainty in medical practice and skills in dealing with and communicating the balance of risks and benefits associated with any medical intervention
   
5. An understanding of the appropriate interpretation and application of medical standards, clinical practice guidelines, and practice algorithms

Approved by the Education Council of the Medical Center Faculty Senate, July 29, 1997
Approved by the Medical Center Faculty Senate, September 3, 1997
Technical changes approved by the Executive Committee of the Medical Center Faculty Senate, October 21, 1997