An update on YOUR M.D., the School of Medicine’s new UME curriculum

July 10, 2015

One year into a four-year implementation process, what’s the status of the School of Medicine’s new undergraduate medical education curriculum? In this article, we dissect the handout first shared during the June 24 annual faculty meeting:

 

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YOUR M.D. by the numbers

The curriculum is structured around 43 UME competencies, six domains of competence and 13 entrustable professional activities (EPAs). The M.D. Class of 2018 – the first to experience YOUR M.D. – is made up of 139 students. They are more than halfway through the Foundations of Medicine portion of the curriculum, which is made up of seven blocks and includes an exemplar case of the week and a spiraled integration of basic and clinical sciences.

Admissions data reflect a continued increase in the number of applicants to the M.D. program, with a record high of 6,049 applications for the 2015-16 academic year.

Fruitful feedback

One of the most critical aspects of the first year of YOUR M.D. is feedback from students, faculty and staff. Through regular meetings and town halls, students tell administrators what they like about their experience and make suggestions for improvements. A record of this continuous feedback process is posted on the student portal and documents the many changes brought about by student input on topics from study space to assessments to exam material modifications.

"Students ask wonderful questions and are thinking in a wonderful way; I was surprised they were also able to formulate clinical reasoning questions this early on." – Feedback from a faculty instructor

"The program is forward thinking, which was exciting for me. I also could feel the energy and genuine excitement of those involved in the change and the program." – Feedback from an applicant

Keep moving

Meanwhile, YOUR M.D. development and the School of Medicine’s involvement in the AMA’s national medical education initiative continue. The clinical experiences will begin in mid-February 2016. The scholarly project aspect of the curriculum is also underway: a leadership team has been formed and students will take an introductory course beginning this fall.

Visit the AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education website for the latest on the work of the consortium of schools involved in the initiative. Visit www.ohsu.edu/newcurriculum for more details.