University of Virginia School of
Medicine
Curriculum Committee
Minutes 02.22.01
Pediatric Pathology Conference Room, 4:00 pm
Present (underlined) were: Reid Adams, Robert Bloodgood,
Victoria Camerini, Anita Clayton, Al Connors, Gene Corbett,
Joseph Dubose (Alexandra Yamshchikov) , Joanna Goldberg,
Donald Innes (Chair), Jerry Short, Bill Wilson,
Debra Reed (Secretary)
- Readers Respond - AAMC News, Feb., 2001 was distributed to
the committee - Do Current Curricula for the third and fourth years
adequately prepare students for residency and future practice? If not,
how should they be strengthened? The committee discussed the
published responses from various medical schools. Many of the
curriculum revisions instituted at the University of Virginia School of
Medicine over the last year or that are planned for the next few years
address the concerns noted in the article.
- Cell & Tissue Self-Assessment. A letter will be drafted
to Bob Bloodgood with the Committee's response and recommendations for
the Cell & Tissue course.
- PoM-2. While the Curriculum Committee agreed that PoM-2 is a
well-received, effective course and should not be harmed, more patient
interaction and enhancement of skills is necessary. The PoM-2 planning
group (Drs. Wispelwey and Squillace, et.al.) will be advised to
continue their work concentrating on these goals:
a. Increase instruction on physical examination skills continuing the
progress of PoM-1. While the students get a basic introduction in
PoM-1, students should have more opportunities to use and enhance their
skills in PoM-2. The clerkships should be practice as opposed to
initial acquisition of skills. Since PoM-2 paper case discussions
occupy two hours of one afternoon with the ICM tutor, the committee
would like to encourage them to expand this time to three hours (as in
PoM-1). Funding to compensate PoM-2 tutors similarly to PoM-1 tutors
will be requested. The Planning Group will be asked to explore means to
accomplish either a visit with a patient in an outpatient setting,
participation in a bedside interview and/or physical examination, or
examination of a standardized patient on a weekly basis. The tutor
should be present for at least one or two of these sessions per month
and possibly a third or fourth year medical student available for the
others ("clinical afternoon with a peer"). The Planning Group will be
asked to think of novel ways to implement more patient contact and
skill enhancement during third year.
b. The skills taught during the PoM-1 course (e.g. cardiac examination,
eye examination) should be practiced and enhanced as PoM-2 progresses,
e.g. abnormal heart sounds in the cardiac examination.
c. Cases should include at least one case with a pediatric orientation
and one with a surgical orientation. Use of radiology images, ECG
tracings, and microscopic and clincal images should be included
whenever possible.
d. The Planning Group should decide which of the skills formerly taught
in the transition course should be taught in PoM-2 and how to
accomplish this. The time spent during the transition course shadowing
a nurse might be better arranged on a weekend. Some skills taught
during the Transition Course and not used for 3-6 months or more after
the initial training would be better off taught during the Clerkship in
which it will be used.
e. Possible addition of medical students on weekend clinical rounds on
a rotating basis as part of PoM-2.
While this year's students in ICM feel that the course is excellent and
suggest few modifications, the Committee feels that the first year
students now enrolled in the PoM-1 course will have increased
expectations for patient interaction in PoM-2. The Committee also fears
loss of clinical skills if they are underused during second year.
The Curriculum Committee is aware of the obstacles such as space issues
and faculty availability that hamper the PoM-2 Planning Group. The
Planning Group should look at where they would like to be in five years
and take steps to do as much as possible each year with what is
available. They should look for innovative ways to accomplish these
goals.
Don Innes will talk with Michael Rein about the Transition Course and
what the initial goals of the course were at its inception and report
back to the Curriculum Committee.
-Don Innes
-dmr
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