Preceptor
Students spend one afternoon a week with a preceptor during
their first three years of medical school. The majority of
the students are paired with a pediatrician, internist or
a family physician. They do have the opportunity to change
to a specialist preceptor in their third year for career exploration
opportunities. The goal of the preceptor experience is to
expose the students to physician role models early in their
educational experience and to allow them the opportunity to
become comfortable interacting with patients, applying some
of the basic skills and knowledge they are gradually acquiring.
Physical Exam
Students learn basic skills in a series of topic oriented
(e.g., the cardiovascular exam) small group exercises. The
first year curriculum involves examining each other under
the guidance of faculty tutors. During their second year,
we recruit patients with abnormal findings and the students
examine the patients under the guidance of a faculty tutor.
Communications
We teach a particular style of open-ended inquiry that focuses
on a series of invitations, excellent nonverbal skills and
the use of short summaries (ILS). We teach specific skills
around the use of empathy, behavior modification and the difficult
encounters. Tutors receive training prior to teaching the
small group exercises in which students interview standardized
patients.
Hidden Curriculum
Our third year students meet in small groups for 6 sessions
throughout the year to discuss the experiences that are shaping
them as medical professionals. The discussions are lead by
a faculty member and a senior medical student. There are topics
provided for each session (e.g., power abuse). We try to emphasize
the positive experiences and discuss how we might learn from
the negative experiences.
