Students in Class of 2020 and Beyond
The new M Delta curriculum delivery methods will reflect current practices in health care, focusing more on team-based learning, and less on lecture-style coursework. Good learning is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Active learning, rather than listening to instructors and memorizing content, is assessed by what students will do with the information they learn. Faculty facilitate collaborative group work, allowing students to practice problem solving and the application of knowledge in clinical case-based exercises, reflective of contemporary methods in medicine.
The curriculum includes early and sustained clinical exposure, as early as the first month of school; integration of clinical medicine with the basic sciences over all four years; enhanced use of medical simulation exercises in both gross and virtual anatomy labs as well as radiology, using state-of-the-art medical imaging; individualized education, and a focus on self-directed learning that respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
The curriculum will be divided into three stages:
Stage 1
Exploration Stage 1 will last for about 18 months and will follow a launch into the curriculum. Students will also be offered pre-matriculation materials. The Exploration Stage 1 will be centered on a team-based learning (TBL) curriculum that is patient-centered and case-based. Students will have a student continuity practice (see CLIC below) and will be placed in clinical homes. Laboratory (including cadaver dissection as well as technology enhanced virtual laboratory experiences), simulation and a doctoring course will also be included in the Exploration Stage. The TBL experiences will be supported by ReALM (remote active learning materials). Experiences in interprofessional teams will be included in this stage as part of a novel course called VITALS (Vertically Integrated Teams Aligned in Learning and Scholarship) which will include teams of students across all stages of the curriculum with dental students.
Stage 1 is comprised of five 10-week blocks. Each block is followed by a two-week LEAP (Learning Enhancement and Assessment Period). The summer between the third and fourth block is 12 weeks, allowing ample time for research or other explorations.
| Course Title | Course Description |
|---|---|
| COrE (Case Oriented Essentials) | Team Based Learning is the key pedagogy in this offering, which is broken down into five separate courses over time, each progressing the student toward greater independence and enhanced clinical reasoning skills. The sequence of cases help the student to develop foundational knowledge in the basic medical and biopsychosocial sciences through the presentation of virtual patients and families. |
| Fabric of Anatomy & Biology Lab | The laboratory experience includes Gross Anatomy, Virtual Anatomy, Histology, and early exposure to Radiology and Ultrasound in both the Human Anatomy Lab (HAL) and Virtual Anatomy Lab (VAL). The goal of the Laboratory program is to provide students with fundamental knowledge of the anatomy and microanatomy of all clinically relevant regions and structures within the human body. This knowledge will inform their physical examination and clinical reasoning skills. Students will learn to correlate state-of-the-art medical images with anatomy and to recognize pathological changes associated with anatomy. |
| DOCC (Delivery of Clinical Care) | Students will learn the necessary skills to interact with and examine patients, and will be provided regular feedback for ultimate growth as a professional. Starting early in the first year, students will have clinical experiences both at an outpatient practice and within the continuum of care. |
| Clinical Home | Students will be connected to one of our four major teaching hospital systems. They will be introduced to the hospital system via a tour based on a patient case and develop a familiarity with that institution. Activities at the clinical home will occur several times monthly. Students will develop a deep understanding of the workings of a health care system including the full continuum of care, health care economics, high value care, and patient safety and quality. |
| CLIC (Clinical Longitudinal Immersion in the Community) | Students are paired with a physician in an outpatient practice, allowing the student to interact with actual patients. Within a month of starting medical school, students begin practicing the skills they learn in DOCC in the authentic office environment. This experience lasts for at least the first three years (may be continued during fourth year on an elective basis), allowing for significant personal and professional growth. |
| Vertically Integrated Teams Aligned in Learning and Scholarship (VITALS) Teams | Longitudinal teams of students from across the four years join dental students to learn together and teach each other critical, timely material across the spectrum. The content includes such topics as bioethics in the news, emerging diseases, health care policy and social determinants of health. These sessions support students future roles as scholarly physicians, life-long teachers, and learners. |
| Discovery and Scholarship | Students receive instruction in Responsible Conduct of Research and core knowledge and skills for research and scholarly activity. Students may choose either an individualized or team-based scholarship curriculum. Students will be provided mentors. A capstone project suitable for peer review is completed before graduation. |
| ILOs: Individualized Learning Opportunities | ILOs occur during the 2-week LEAP period between each 10-week block during Stage 1. Students will have the chance to pursue elective experiences through shadowing clinicians, working on educational projects, service learning, exploring humanities in medicine, research, global health programs, and other areas to enhance their personalized learning experience and these will be reflected in a student electronic portfolio. |
Stage 2
Clinical Immersion Stage 2 will begin in March of the second year and will allow for flexible time for board study, electives and will include longitudinal clinical experiences as well as in-patient clinical immersion.
Stage 3
Transformation Stage 3 will include advanced clinical experiences and a transition to residency program.
Throughout all years of school, students will be involved in a vertically integrated team-based learning experience called VITALS to review current events, health policy, ethics and law. Students will also be involved in a scholarly experience with a particular focus of that experience in Stage 3. Another focus of the curriculum will be students teaching students and highlighting the role of doctor as teacher.
Entrustment
At the completion of our curriculum, UConn School of Medicine students will have achieved all of the graduation competencies and be entrusted to proceed to residency training.