Educational Objectives

Educational Objectives

University of Utah School of Medicine

2011

I. Demonstrate medical knowledge about established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and cognate (e.g. epidemiological and social-behavioral) sciences and the application of this knowledge to patient care.

Medical Knowledge – Basic Sciences
1. Describe the normal functioning of the human organism on molecular, cellular and system levels.
2. Describe the pathophysiology of all major disease processes at the cellular and organ system levels.
3. Explain the mechanism and possible adverse effects of various therapeutic interventions.
4. Analyze the basic science issues presented by a clinical problem.
5. Apply significant principles of basic science as they relate to clinical medicine.
Medical Knowledge – Clinical Sciences
1. Describe the signs, symptoms and physical findings of all major disease entities.
2. Identify deviations from the expected course of a disease.
3. Identify and interpret diagnostic procedures appropriate to confirm or refute the diagnosis of particular clinical conditions.
4. Predict the expected results of a treatment plan for any given clinical condition.
5. Provide patient care in the areas of acute, chronic, continuing, rehabilitative, and end-of-life medicine.
6. Distinguish between primary and specialty care.
Medical Knowledge -- Health Care Delivery System
1. Describe the history of the United States’ health care system.
2. Describe health care delivery and financing, including gender and cultural biases, and the role of the government and private payers.
3. Analyze a financing or delivery issue in writing.
4. Explain the theory and practice of managed care.
5. Compare health care systems of other major developed countries to the U.S. system.
Medical Knowledge -- Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
1. Describe preventive health care measures across the life span and across cultures.
2. Assess the patient for current health promotion and disease prevention activities and deficits.
3. Create, implement, and evaluate a treatment plan with the patient that includes attention to health promotion and disease prevention.
4. Describe selected complementary therapies.
Medical Knowledge -- Community Health
1. Describe the basic principles of public health, epidemiology, and biostatistics.
2. Analyze a community health problem in writing.
3. Use resources available in the community to help improve the overall quality of society’s health, as well as the health of the individual patients.
4. Advocate for better health for patients and the community.
Medical Knowledge -- Information Management
1. Retrieve information, demonstrating the ability to perform database searches using logical operators, controlled vocabulary, appropriate limits, and evidence-based filters.
2. Manage selected citations from a database search and organize them into a personal database for tracking literature in an area of interest.
3. Manage both handwritten and electronic medical records.
4. Protect confidentiality of private information obtained from patients, colleagues and others.
5. Make use of online and print resources to enhance presentation skills and answer a clinical question.
6. Conform to copyright and intellectual property regulations.
Medical Knowledge -- Application of Research Findings
1. Critically analyze a selected research paper from the medical literature.
2. Find and apply multiple sources of information, including clinical trials, review articles, and practice guidelines, to a particular situation.
3. Assess the quality of validity of these sources of evidence using literature analysis techniques.
4. Describe his/her responsibility to maintain information and skills over the length of practice

II. Provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health.

Patient Care (Clinical Skills)
1. Take and record a clinical history in a variety of situations.
2. Perform a comprehensive and accurate physical examination.
3. Demonstrate ethical principles in caring for patients, and in relating to patients’ families and to others involved in patient care.
4. Patient Care (Problem-Solving/Patient Management Skills)
  1. When presented with initial history, develop a preliminary problem list and initial plan for additional data collection, including further history, focused physical examination, and laboratory evaluation to refine the problem list.
  2. Incorporate additional information to develop a formal differential diagnosis.
  3. Develop plans for continued evaluation and/or treatment based on the above data and additional information obtained from textbooks, medical literature, colleagues, etc.
  4. Develop plans that include cultural considerations and are sensitive to the health care needs and issues of non-dominant groups.
  5. Integrate and apply knowledge derived from diverse domains and sources in the solution of clinical problems.
  6. Patient Care (Patient Education)
    1. Identify the need and opportunity for educating patients in a clinical setting.
    2. Form a teaching plan for a variety of persons and situations.
    3. Implement and evaluate a teaching plan sensitive to developmental, gender, cultural and individual differences.

III. Exhibit interpersonal and communication skills that promote effective and culturally responsive information exchange and result in team-based patient care which includes the patients, patients' families and communities, and professional associates.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills (Communication and Interview Skills)
1. Employ active listening skills, including nonverbal and verbal interaction.
2. Establish, maintain and terminate an empathetic relationship.
3. Mange the phases of a clinical interview, including opening and closing, transitions, and the body of the interview.
4. Demonstrate effective communication with uncooperative, depressed, mentally ill, non-English speaking, or physically handicapped individuals.
5. Maintain professional behavior with colleagues and patients, demonstrating courtesy, respect, tact, and appropriate emotional control.
6. Negotiate with the patient as a partner in decisions about his/her health including agreeing on the definition of the patient’s clinical problem and establishing mutually acceptable goals for treatment.

IV. Demonstrate a commitment to professionalism in carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles and legal statutes, and sensitivity to a diverse patient population.

Professionalism (Legal and Ethical Issues)
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the manner in which people of diverse cultures and belief systems perceive health and illness and respond to various symptoms, diseases, and treatments.
2. Assess and describe the effects of factors influencing the health care status of individual patients beyond those of a biological nature, including social, cultural, economic, psychological, environmental, occupational, familial and spiritual factors.
3. Formulate a diagnosis and plan for treatment that incorporate these factors
4. Employ these factors in communicating with patients to define clinical problems and agree on a treatment plan.
5. Professionalism (Respect)
  1. Identify patient needs and priorities, particularly when in conflict with the student’s.
  2. Protect the patient’s rights to privacy and autonomy at all times.
  3. Identify the effects of intolerance and discrimination on the health care of non-dominant ethnic and social groups.
  4. Professionalism (Cooperation)
    1. Work constructively with other health care providers in interdisciplinary teams.
    2. Display the professional ethics of physicians.
    3. Demonstrate professional behavior in individual patient encounters and as a member of the health care team

V. Demonstrate an understanding of systems-based practice; i.e. responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, and the ability to utilize system resources to optimize patient care.

Systems Based Practice (Health Care Delivery System)
1. Describe the history of the United States’ health care system.
2. Describe health care delivery and financing, including gender and cultural biases, and the role of the government and private payers.
3. Analyze a financing or delivery issue in writing.
4. Explain the theory and practice of managed care.
5. Compare health care systems of other major developed countries to the U.S. system.

VI. Demonstrate a basic approach to practice-based learning and improvement through exposure to and graduated responsibility within a longitudinal clinical experience.

VII. Actively engage in self-directed learning activities that promote lifelong learning.

VIII. Consciously practice continuous self-assessment that identifies individual strengths and weaknesses and optimizes patient care through more efficient and effective individual and team performance.

Practice-based Learning and Improvement, Self-directed Learning, Self-assessment (Self-Awareness)
1. Evaluate one’s own performance, skills and attitudes realistically and objectively.
2. Recognize one’s own personal limitations.
3. Protect and promote one’s own mental and physical health to the extent that it impacts patient care.
4. Recognize and address gender and cultural biases in themselves and others, and in the process of health care delivery.