Discussion Items

1. Minutes

Dr. Constance reported that he was not present at the last meeting. Dr. Caspary made a motion, seconded by Dr. Williams, to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion passed unanimously.

2. Announcements

Dr. Distlehorst reported that an interim report from the External Reviewer had been received and reviewed with Dr. Dorsey. The final report will be distributed to the EPC as soon as it is received.

Dr. Constance explained that a new matriculation requirement cannot be implemented for the Class of 2006; if a requirement will be implemented for the Class of 2007, it must be established by June 2002, as those students begin to apply. He offered to work with Dr. Resch to determine options for the Class of 2006.

Dr. Distlehorst reported that that she was working with Dr. Constance to set up the USMLE Step 1 Review and that the faculty certification process was currently underway.

Dr. Distlehorst announced that the Dr. Gary Dunnington and Dr. Reed Williams would be presenting the Department of Surgery EVU system at the next Medical Education Grand Rounds on Tuesday, March 26.

3. Honors Policy

Dr. Kruse explained that there has been discussion regarding how honors are awarded in clerkships that has brought about interest in discussing honors across the curriculum. EPC discontinued Honors in Years 1 and 2, as well as Institutional Honors during a previous review of the issue. There is a current concern regarding whether it is appropriate for two-week clerkships to award honors, and it was suggested that, in light of the new curriculum, the EPC should review its current Honors Policy. There was much discussion as to the value of honors in Year 1 and Year 2, how honors in Year 3 affects student working relationships, and how honors are viewed by students and by faculty. The consensus was to hold a discussion regarding honors across the curriculum for a year while the curriculum continues to evolve. However, in light of the ambiguity of the current policy for Year 3 clerkships, it was suggested that the EPC state a policy for awarding honors for appropriate curriculum experiences for the current and upcoming academic year and set up a task force to begin the process of developing an honors policy across all four years. Part of this process will include a review of how criteria for honors is applied, the length of time necessary to appropriately apply those criteria, and establishment of guidelines for the awarding of honors.

Dr. Davis made a motion, seconded by Dr. Caspary, that honors continue to be awarded for the following required curriculum experiences: Anesthesiology, Doctoring/Medical Humanities in Year 3 and Year 4, Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology in Year 3 and Year 4, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery. The motion passed unanimously.

4. Review of Four-Year Curriculum

4.1 Doctoring Streamer

Dr. Barnhart reported that the Doctoring Committee had been working with Year 4 to document Year 4 Doctoring expectations and guidelines.

4.2 Year 1 Curriculum

Dr. Wade reported that Year 1 students are in the Endo/Repro/Gastro segment and that the curriculum and students appear to be progressing smoothly.

4.3 Year 2 Curriculum

Dr. Borgia reported that Year 2 faculty had been reviewing student performance on the second of the three block exams for the year. Forty-three of 72 students were progressing satisfactorily; one student was given an unsatisfactory performance rating, five students were progressing with concerns, and 23 students had been given C* ratings, which means that they have relatively minor deficiencies that can be remediated before the end of the next block. The scale used to make these determinations is two standard deviations below the mean for unsatisfactory; 1.5 standard deviations below the mean for “concerns.” It was noted that this is a norm referenced, rather than criterion referenced progression system that parallels the Year 1 system.

EPC members expressed some concern regarding the use of standard deviations for progress decisions, since that sets up a scenario in which not all students can pass.

Dr. Borgia said that the Year 2 Committee would discuss the policy as it plans for the next academic year.

4.4 Year 3 Curriculum

Dr. Kovach reported that the Year 3 Curriculum Committee discussed the Class of 2002 CCX performance and the curriculum feedback provided by the CCX Committee, and PDAs in the clerkships. Calendar issues continue to be discussed, as well. The current issue is that, since Year 3 is now 52 weeks, it is necessary to ensure appropriate vacations. The current plan is for two weeks at holidays, one week between the long clerkships, and a long weekend at the conclusion of the Family and Community Medicine Clerkship. The original plan included a long weekend during the Psychiatry Clerkship, too. The other two short clerkships (Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics) do not have as much flexibility because those clerkships are set up as two three-week experiences. This illustrates the difficulty in directing Year 3, because of the departmental nature of the clerkships… Dr. Barnhart made a motion, seconded by Dr. Resch, that the EPC recommend to the Year 3 Curriculum Committee that two days of each Psychiatry Clerkship be designated as vacation. Concerns were expressed regarding the EPC micromanaging without a clear recommendation from the Year 3 Committee. It was suggested that the issue be remanded back to Year 3. Mr. LeBlang made a motion, seconded by Dr. Caspary, to table the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Dr. Kovach added that the Year 3 Committee would be discussing the AAMC Project on the Clinical Education of Medical Students by Dr. Nutter and Dr. Whitcomb. Although the report is somewhat controversial, it should provide good areas of discussion for the committee.

4.5 Year 4 Curriculum

Dr. Distlehorst reported that Year 4 Orientation was scheduled for March 27. The Year 4 Committee will also be discussing the “Nutter” report. Dr. Davis added that requests for elective course dates had been distributed to faculty and that the Electives Catalog had been much enhanced. Dr. Constance asked that EPC review the number of open weeks in Year 4.

4.6 Four-Year Calendar

Dr. Kruse directed the attention of EPC members to the four-year calendar for Academic Year 2002-2003, which had been updated to include changes recommended by Year 1. The Y1CC has suggested that Doctoring not be listed as a separate entity, but that the first unit, Cardiovascular/Renal/Respiratory, should be shown as 13 weeks. Dr. Kruse suggested that the color blocks be left to ensure that the importance of Doctoring is recognized, but that the segment be labeled as requested by Year 1: DOC/Cardiovascular/Renal/Respiratory. In addition, due to the week being provided as vacation over the Thanksgiving holiday, the first year extends into the time allotment for the Mentored Professional Enrichment Project, which reduces the length of time for the MPEE to 8 weeks, if students are to have more than 4 days off between Year 1 and Year 2. Although there was concern about the viability of the MPEE in light of these changes, there was consensus to accept the changes.

It was suggested that the EPC consider a start date of August 1 for Year 1, to allow for more time between the two years for students to move to Springfield and get settled before the curriculum starts. It was noted that any changes made to the start date would have to begin with a graduating class and follow through – calendars cannot change once a class of students has begun.

5. Subcommittee Reports:

5.1 Educational Value Unit Task Force Update (Jerry Kruse, MD)

Dr. Kruse reported that the task force continues to meet and has developed the next iteration of a questionnaire that will be distributed to faculty in the near future.

5.2 Biotechnology, Genetics and Ethics (David Steward, MD)

Dr. Borgia reported that the Biotechnology, Genetics, and Ethics Subcommittee continues to refine the curriculum grid that will form the basis of the group’s recommendations.

5.3 Faculty Development (Don Caspary, PhD)

Dr. Caspary reported that the Faculty Development Subcommittee had distributed an informal survey to department chairs and that the group would review the survey results at the next meeting.

5.4 Information Technology (IMPC/EPC Joint Subcommittee; David Resch, MD, Chair)

Dr. Resch reported that the Information Technology Subcommittee continues to meet monthly and is in the process of finalizing the programs for the next two educational sessions. March 27, the topic is databases, and April 24, the topic is assessment software. The April 24 assessment software session will be a half day with an opportunity for faculty to work with assessment software.

The subcommittee has also discussed PDA hardware and software and is recommending that, for the foreseeable future, the student project should continue with Palm Operating System 3.5 or greater due to the current investment in software and infrastructure.

Dr. Resch reiterated that he would be working with Dr. Constance to develop a mechanism for the Class of 2006 to matriculate with PDAs and suggested that the EPC should make a recommendation to require the Class of 2007 to matriculate with PDAs.

It was suggested that perhaps the Student Resource Fund would consider this a worthwhile project, even though the deadline has passed. Ms. Cameron was asked to submit a request.

Dr. Resch added that he continued to discuss support of the PDAs by Nurse Educators with Dr. Distlehorst.

5.5 Program Evaluation (Beth Dawson, PhD, Chair)

Dr. Kruse reported that the Program Evaluation Subcommittee has not met since the last EPC meeting but reiterated the earlier announcement that the External Reviewer’s preliminary report had been received and that the final report would be distributed to the EPC.

5.6 Educational Research (EPC, RPC and SCRIHS Joint Subcommittee, Edward Moticka, Chair)

The Educational Research Subcommittee has been impaneled but has not yet met.

6. Other

Dr. Kruse asked that EPC members review the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) proposal draft developed by IMPC and send comments via e-mail to Terri Cameron by Friday, March 22.

7. Next Educational Policy Council Meeting: Monday, May 13, 2002, 1:30 to 3 pm.