NEW PROGRAMS FOR CLINICAL STUDENTS
Changes focus on improved outcomes
Recent additions to the clinical curriculum reflect student requests for help and faculty concerns about exam performance. “The University leadership has been working hard to put together this comprehensive approach to bringing more resources to our clinical students,” says Toleafoa Viali Lameko, MBBS, MPH, PhD (Candidate), Vice Chancellor and -Chairman of the Clinical Phase Review Committee (CPRC.) “We expect to see the results in each and every student.” Here is a summary of recent changes related to clinical students:
- Clinical Student Advisors will essentially extend the Academic Advisor role to the clinical rotations, where a student will be assigned to a clinician in their own country to advise them on issues that may arise in the rotation itself as well as provide assistance in preparation for end-of-rotation exams, USMLE, AMC, and NZREX. They will also provide advice and counsel for scheduling future rotations, applying for residencies, and career choices. The advisors have been hired and are currently being assigned to students. Watch the Moodle newsfeed for details on an information session on how the program works.
- Clinical Course Directors, currently being recruited by OUM, will be the content experts on each of the seven core rotation areas. They will set learning objectives and define learning activities for the rotations, select texts, assign readings, develop and evaluate end-of-rotation exams and weekly quizzes, interact with regional deans and clinical student advisors to understand any issues with the rotations, and evaluate and update the Final Clinical Exam.
- Final Clinical Exam will be reviewed and updated during 2017 by the Clinical Clerkship Directors and other senior faculty. Therefore, students rising to graduation in 2017 will not be required to sit for the exam in order to meet the requirements for graduation.
- Those students who have passed the OSCE, have had satisfactory reports from all of their clerkship supervisors, and have submitted satisfactory logbooks will have met the requirements of the clinical phase of the program. The registrar will contact those students who are slated to graduate to confirm that all requirements have been met.
- During this time of review, we will place our faith in the licensing and registration exams of the students’ countries that they are competent to practice medicine safely, just as we do for American graduates through the USMLE. In the meantime, we encourage our senior clerks to sit for the FCE to help them prepare for their country’s licensure or registration exam.
- Beginning in January 2018, we plan to reinstate the fully reviewed and updated version of the FCE. At that time, passing the written FCE will again be a graduation requirement.
- Mini-Cases added two days per week of instruction to the system-based modules (SBMs) and will expose students to a total of 270 clinical entities during the four-days-per-week modules. Students will be required to participate in the case discussions, which will add to their clinical vocabulary during subsequent rotations.
- Weekly clinical quizzes will help students keep pace with the required daily reading assignments and to prepare for the end-of-rotation exam. Beginning in term 1704, the 10-question quizzes will feature two questions on each of five subjects covered in that week’s readings. For more information, students should consult with their regional dean or student affairs personnel.
