Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Curriculum: Shaping Future Doctors
Introduction
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has implemented significant changes to its curriculum, most notably the MCWFusion curriculum, emphasizing character, caring, and excellence in medical education. This article explores the unique offerings of the MCWFusion curriculum, including "The Good Doctor" course and MCW Learning Communities, examining their impact on students and faculty alike. The curriculum moves away from traditional lecture-style teaching methods toward experiential, small-group learning formats that promote team-based learning, a growth mindset, and discovery.
The Good Doctor Course: Cultivating Character and Professional Development
"The Good Doctor" course is a mandatory Phase 1 course for all medical students, focusing on leadership, ethics, character development, well-being, and communication skills. This course introduces students to topics considered central to the life experience of a physician, offering them opportunities to practice their responses in hypothetical scenarios within a psychologically safe space.
Ashley Pavlic, MD, MA, Director of "The Good Doctor" course, reflects on her experiences as an emergency medicine intern, sharing anecdotes that highlight the unpredictable and high-stakes nature of medical practice.
Real-Life Scenarios and the Need for Preparedness
Dr. Pavlic recounts a situation where she was handed a scalpel by her attending physician and told to keep it in her pocket "just in case," emphasizing the need to be prepared for unexpected situations. She shares several personal experiences where she wished she had been better prepared to handle complex ethical and emotional challenges, such as informing a patient about a cancer diagnosis or comforting a grieving family.
Addressing the Gaps in Traditional Medical Training
Dr. Pavlic notes that traditional medical training often lacks formal instruction in areas such as communication skills, ethical decision-making, and personal well-being. "The Good Doctor" course aims to bridge this gap by providing students with opportunities to reflect on their values, develop their character strengths, and practice essential skills in a supportive environment.
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Hopes for the Future
Dr. Pavlic expresses her hope that students who complete "The Good Doctor" course will be better equipped to navigate the complexities of medical practice, make ethical decisions, and provide compassionate care to their patients. She hopes that the course provides students with more tools than she had when resilience was needed. She also hopes that students have the opportunity to develop their character through all the activities of the course, the uncomfortable situations they are put in, and the leadership that is asked of them.
Student Perspectives: Combating Perfectionism
Molly Brennan, a first-year medical student, shares her perspective on unlearning perfectionism in the organic chemistry lab. She reflects on her struggles with the pressure to be perfect and the fear of making mistakes. Brennan describes how she learned to embrace imperfection and focus on learning from her mistakes rather than striving for unattainable perfection.
MCW Learning Communities: Fostering Support and Connection
The MCWFusion curriculum also includes Learning Communities, small cohorts of eight students each who progress together through all four years of medical school. Kurt Pfeifer, MD, FACP, SFHM, DFPM, Director of Learning Communities, explains that these communities provide students with a supportive network of peers and faculty navigators who can help them navigate the challenges of medical school.
The Role of Faculty Navigators
Faculty navigators play a crucial role in connecting students to resources at MCW and providing guidance and support. They help students navigate the vast amount of information they receive and connect them with resources that can help them succeed. Navigators have provided frequent assistance in these matters that Pfeifer doesn't think would happen without students having such a faculty connection.
Building Strong Bonds
Dr. Pfeifer was surprised to see how strongly some groups bonded and dove deep into the challenging material of The Good Doctor course. The Learning Communities foster a sense of camaraderie and collaboration among students, allowing them to support each other through the challenges of medical school.
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Meaningful Outcomes
Dr. Pfeifer notes that it is still too early to have "harder" outcomes, but he is impressed by how invested students and navigators are in the content of "The Good Doctor" course and the purpose of Learning Communities. He has heard feedback suggesting that learning communities have served a critical role in fostering student support of each other through the challenges of transitioning into medical school.
Key Components of the MCWFusion Curriculum
The MCWFusion curriculum provides a phased approach for a comprehensive medical education, including doctoring threads paired with practice opportunities that feature clinically applicable and fully integrated basic science teaching.
Community Engagement
In partnership with community mentors, students identify community needs, collaborate to design and implement a community-engaged scholarly project, and develop a presentation to share their results.
Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC)
A Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) is a clinical learning model for medical students that combines multiple clinical disciplines into a single experience. This model allows students to follow a panel of patients over time as they move through various healthcare settings, observing the continuum of patient services at all levels of healthcare.
Electives and Acting Internship Rotations
In Phase 3, Electives and Acting Internship rotations may be scheduled in any order among the set Spiral Weeks, Individual Professional Development, and Integrated Science Selectives.
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MCW-Central Wisconsin's Three-Year Curriculum
MCW's three-year curriculum is a calendar-efficient program available at MCW-Central Wisconsin, allowing for graduation one year earlier than traditional programs. Students at MCW-Central Wisconsin need a vehicle to travel to their assigned clinical sites, beginning with one half-day per week in the fall of Phase 1.
tags: #medical #college #of #wisconsin #curriculum
