EPC Curriculum Documents Subcommittee

July 7, 2003

Dr. Davis reported that he had presented a draft of the “Faculty Statement of Principles About Teaching” at the most recent Faculty Council meeting.  The response from the Faculty Council was that the curriculum belongs to the faculty and that all public records/statements about the curriculum should reflect that concept and the principles in the “Faculty Statement” document.  Dr. Davis was asked to present the document at the next General Faculty Meeting and send the final version out to faculty for a vote of affirmation.  It was suggested that all existing documents be cataloged so that the “Faculty Statement” can replace/supercede them.

As the document was reviewed, Dr. Davis explained that there were three major points to the document:

• The curriculum is the responsibility of the faculty as a whole.

• The goal is excellence in student performance.

• Teaching is a primary responsibility of faculty.

In the discussion that followed, the following concerns were noted:

• Participation in the graduate programs and undergrad basic science programs is not referenced in the document.  It was noted that SIUSOM does not have authority over those programs, but the phrase “Learners of Medicine” could be used to reference teaching of both medical students and residents, although others thought it would be better to specifically state “medical students and residents.”  The consensus appeared to be to rename the document “A Compact Between the Faculty, Students and Residents of SIUSOM.”  This will better illustrate the concept that residents are also teachers and subject to the same expectations, yet are also learners.

• It was suggested that excellence in student performance might be better listed as a goal, rather than as an expectation, particularly since there is no mechanism for the awarding of honors in Years 1 and 2.  The suggested responses for this concern were 1) to focus on academics in the broad sense – the goal is to train good physicians, not focus on test scores; 2) to change the term “measure” to “goal;” and 3) to stress the charge to faculty to design and implement the curriculum.

• Although teaching is a primary responsibility of faculty, the promotion and salary systems do not reflect priority.  The consensus was that part of this process should be a recommendation back to the EPC that the SIUSOM Promotion and Tenure documents need to be updated to reward faculty who make teaching a priority.

Dr. Davis said that he would incorporate the suggestions made at the meeting into the compact, focusing on three components:

• The focus of the curriculum and of faculty teaching efforts is to train medical students and residents (reflecting the wording of bullet 5 in the AAMC Compact Between Teachers and Learners of Medicine)

• There must be measurement of student achievement to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum

• All teaching should be done in the context of respect and professionalism for students, residents, and colleagues

Action Steps for Next Meeting:

• Dr. Davis will develop a revision of the Compact Between the Faculty, Students and Residents of SIUSOM for review by the subcommittee

Next Meeting:  8:30 am Monday, August 4, 2003