University of Virginia School of
Medicine
Curriculum Committee
Minutes
10.24.02
Pediatric Pathology Conference Room, 4:00 pm
Present (underlined) were: Reid Adams, Robert Bloodgood,
Victoria Camerini, Anita Clayton, Lisa Coray, Gene
Corbett, Donald Innes (Chair), Vern Juel, Howard
Kutchai, Jerry Short, Nikhil Rao, Bill Wilson,
Brian Wispelwey, Debra Reed (secretary) Guest:
Veronica Michaelsen
- Committee Membership Changes.
Victory Camerini announced her resignation from the Curriculum
Committee. Dr. Camerini has taken a job at UCLA-Irvine beginning
December, 2002. The Committee expressed their appreciation for her
efforts on the Curriculum Committee and wished her the best of success
in her new position.
Brian Wispelwey was welcomed as the newest member of the Curriculum
Committee. Brian has been deeply involved in medical education
throughout his career. He is a Professor of Medicine and the course
director of PoM-2. Brian has been the recipient of the Robley
Dungulison award on numerous occasions.
- Cell and Tissue Annual Review. The Committee further
discussed comments obtained from the students at a Town Meeting
regarding the laboratory portion of C&T. Changes have been made to
the laboratory sessions which seem to be addressing some of the
complaints. Some students had suggested that all images should be
video/digitalized images with no microscope use during the labs. The
Committee agreed that as part of the core knowledge of a physician,
some basic microscopic experience is necessary. Many residency programs
besides Pathology, (e.g. Oncology, Renal) do look at the histologic
slides of their patients. Medical students need to know how test
results are generated and have an appreciation of what the pathologist
is looking for in order to use the results properly in diagnosis and
treatment.
- Pharmacology Annual Review. Results of the latest
Pharmacology evaluation were reviewed. Pharmacology student evaluations
are very positive. Students would like to have a rudimentary knowledge
of trade names since they are widely used in practice. Suggestions to
address this issue include developing a FYI list be included in the
Pharmacology notes of the top 200 trade names and that PoM2 should be
encouraged to include trade names in their cases as well as the generic
equivalent.
- Clinical Correlations Self-Directed Study Proposal. Veronica
Michaelsen outlined her proposal to develop an internet based CME
activity for both medical students and residents. It is impossible in
the medical curriculum to cover the entire range of topics available in
the time allotted. Students frequently request more information on
training on topics that do not fit neatly into the existing curriculum.
Topics such as medical professionalism, alternative medicine and
understanding the medical literature are a few examples. These topics
lend themselves to self-selected, self-study programs such that
students with a particular interest could pursue that body of knowledge
further. Implementing these programs in the form of a required course
similar to the Clinical Connections would allow students to receive
academic credit without the physical difficulty of integrating new
material into the existing curriculum. The University recently
purchased a site licence for NetLearning. This system allows delivery
of self-directed learning modules by computer over the internet.
Modules can be assigned as mandatory or optional.
Ultimately three levels of competency could be developed for
each topic. The first level would be accessible to pre-clinical
students in their first two years of the program, material would be
presented in a very basic format. The second level would be directed at
students during the clinical phase of their training and the third
would be appropriate for either residents or medical students with a
particular interest in the topic. Keeping the model of CME and the
Clinical Connections course, the new program would be delivered as a
required course in which the students are free to choose from a number
of modules on various topics. Each student would be required to
complete a certain number of hours of training but the timing and
topics would be up to the individual.
The Committee is very interested in this concept and will discuss this
proposal further.
The October 31st meeting will be devoted to developing the concept
of a "Basic Science for Careers" program for the elective period.
-Don Innes
-dmr
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