Morehouse School of Medicine

Curriculum Management and Governance Structure ♦ The curriculum for the MD program is established and reviewed by the Curriculum and Evaluation Committee (CEC), a faculty committee that reports to the medical school's Academic Policy Council. ♦ The curriculum is administered through the Office of Educational Affairs and regular meetings of the course directors' committees (year 1, year 2, and year 3–4). ♦ These curriculum operations committees implement the curricula and work collaboratively with the CEC to integrate novel strategies in instruction and evaluation. Office of Educational Affairs ♦ The Office of Educational Affairs interlinks the leadership of the MD program, the Graduate Education in Biomedical Sciences program (MS and PhD), and Master's in Public Health program, as well as Graduate Medical Education, Continuing Medical Education, Student admissions, Student Affairs, and other educational programs. ♦ This office provides support for exam preparation and evaluation, course and faculty evaluation, and program evaluation. In collaboration with Faculty Affairs, the office collaborates in faculty development activities. ♦ The Office overlaps with the Department of Medical Education. There are five full-time faculty members in the department and four additional faculty with cross-appointments to this department. Financial Management ♦ Institutional leadership has been protective of the educational mission throughout the current economic challenges. ARRA COE funds have also been received to support educational programs. Valuing Teaching ♦ We have established a Teaching Academy. It is still in a developmental phase. Teaching is more valued at MSM than at most institutions, and teaching contributions play a significant role in the appointment and promotion of faculty. ♦ We do not have a tenure system. Curriculum Renewal Process ♦ Between 2007 and 2009, we revised the first-year curriculum from departmentally based concurrent courses to integrated, sequential courses (from Biochemistry, Human Morphology, Physiology, and Neurobiology to Basic Principles, Organ Systems 1–3). ♦ We also decreased lecture time by about 50 and enhanced small group time. We kept our innovative service-learning course in Community Health and our clinical skills course, Fundamentals of Medicine 1. ♦ Our objectives were to decrease passive learning and increase opportunities for self-directed learning. Learning Outcomes ♦ Learning outcomes are defined for some courses. We are in the process of revising overall learning outcomes. New Topics in the Curriculum ♦ We have been covering issues in patient safety and quality improvement in our third-year curriculum for the past four years. ♦ We have some simulation training in surgery (suturing). ♦ We are including expanded use of clinical simulators in the third year. Changes in Pedagogy ♦ Since 2000, we have continued to expand our use of online modalities for instruction, including the integration of online CLIPP (and other) cases for our clinical clerkships. ♦ We are also developing a variety of other multimedia educational materials, particularly for anatomy. ♦ We have expanded our use of standardized patients in instruction to all four years. Changes in Assessment ♦ Since 2000, we have implemented the use of integrated online testing for first-year courses. This has enhanced our emphasis on integration in instruction and evaluation. ♦ We are continuing to expand our use of standardized patients in evaluation. Clinical Experiences ♦ For our inpatient-based experiences (Medicine, Surgery, and Obstetrics-Gynecology), we continue to use Grady Hospital, a county-supported safety net hospital. ♦ We use a variety of faculty and community ambulatory and other sites for Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Psychiatry. ♦ We face increasing challenges from other students, especially from off-shore medical schools, for facilities and preceptors. We face increasing challenges for our faculty trying to balance teaching and patient care demands. Highlights of the Program ♦ Innovative first-year service-learning course in Community Health. ♦ Student teams evaluate a community, design and carry out an intervention, and report on that intervention. ♦ Honors in Community Service, Honors in Translational Neurobiology. ♦ Honors programs that involve continued goal-oriented community service projects and scholarly papers.