Curriculum Committee Newsletter

July/August 2019
July 1st, 2019

OB/Gyn Clerkship Shortening Plan: Dr. Greely presented an update to the OBGYN Clerkship for the shortened
curriculum. The number of lectures will be reduced from 21 to 16, resulting in a max of 3 hours of lecture per
week and an elimination of any redundancy in the curriculum. Schedules will be adjusted to also include 1 or 2
weekend days over the 6-week curriculum to accommodate the increased number of students entering the
clerkship during “The Bulge” (March-June). This will come into effect in January 2020 for the Class of 2022 and
onwards.
Surgery Clerkship Shortening Plan: Dr. Gordy presented an update to the Surgery Clerkship. The previous
schedule included 4 weeks of general surgery, 2 weeks of SICU, and 2 weeks of subspecialty. This will be
changed to 3 weeks of general surgery, 1.5 weeks of SICU, and 1.5 weeks of subspecialty, where students will
switch on Wednesdays. The oral exam has been removed from the clerkship. This will come into effect in
January 2020 for the Class of 2022 and onwards.
Clinical Elective Graduation Requirements: As part of curricular changes related to clerkship shortening, Dr.
Rose proposed updating the electives requirements to ensure sufficient clinical instruction, and to maintain
compliance with LCME standard 6.8 regarding total weeks of instruction. This applies to the Class of 2022 and
onwards. Any student graduating in the Class of 2021 or sooner will not be expected to adhere to the new
requirements. The new requirements are below:

2018 AAMC Y2Q-BCM Results: Student survey of MS2s showed strengths such as a supportive learning
environment, their classmates and colleagues, and a positive experience with faculty. Areas of improvement
included increased need for organization and communication from administration, elements of the curriculum
such as increased need for NBME-style questions, and the quality of teaching and mentoring. Results of the
report and outcomes of interest have been shared with appropriate members of administration for potential
action items.

July 15th, 2019

CCGGs: Provisional Core Competency Graduation Goals were accepted for the new curriculum. The new
CCGGs were created based off of existing CCGGs for BCM, as well as the current Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies for medical schools across the nation.
Sub-Internship SPAF Changes: The sub-internship Student Performance and Assessment Form was updated to
include evaluation questions that better match relevant sub-internship objectives. Questions were added that
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evaluate a sub-intern’s ability to work in an interdisciplinary team, and place basic orders for discharge,
admission and daily patient care.
Intersession Credit Hours: Dr. Rose presented intersession requirements for the new clinical curriculum
affecting the Class of 2022 and onwards. A 2-week intersession wellness course titled “Service Learning,
Wellness, and Narrative Medicine” will be a graduation requirement as part of the new clinical curriculum.
Electives: Several 2-week clinical electives were approved, including the following: Breast Pathology, Child
Abuse, Diagnostic Cardiology, EMG, Gastrointestinal & Liver Pathology, Molecular Genetic Pathology,
Otolaryngology, and Rheumatology.

August 5th, 2019

IPBD: In response to student feedback, all 7 microbiology lectures previously in the IPBD course have been
removed and replaced with review sessions to further prepare students for the final exam. Students also
enjoyed the small-group case conference with the residents and another one will be added to the Neoplasia
unit next year. Final exam questions will all be thoroughly reviewed, and students will be given an “Exam
Blueprint” to help them better understand exam expectations.
Head and Neck Anatomy: The course will try and add more TAs next year.
Electives: New 2-week electives have been approved and will be offered starting in January 2020. This
includes clinical electives such as: Introduction to Emergency Psychiatry, Complex Care in Pediatrics, Pediatric
Palliative Care, NICU, Ultrasound and Diagnosis, and Pediatric Rheumatology. Reel Physicians: Medicine in the
Movies is a new preclinical elective that will be offered as well.

August 19th, 2019

Group A Selectives: The Group A Selectives, including orthopedic surgery, ENT, ophthalmology and urology,
will now be offered every month and will not have the prerequisite of the surgery core rotation credit.
Students must take two of the four as part of the graduation requirements for the new curriculum. These
changes will ensure that students can take selectives at any open period during their core rotation schedule
even if they haven’t taken the surgery core rotation. Action items have been created to improve student
feedback during selectives.
Electives: Several 2-week electives clinical electives have been approved and will be offered starting in January
2020, including: Regional Anesthesiology, Thoracic Surgery, OB/GYN & HIV, Comprehensive HIV, Nephrology,
Pedi Hem/Onc, High Value Care and Lab Medicine. One preclinical elective, Touchpoints in Clinical Genetics,
was approved and will be offered for preclinical students in 2019.

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Frequently Asked Questions:
• What does the curriculum committee do?
o The curriculum committee consists of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Past-Chairperson, 18
BCM faculty members and 10 students (two from each year of the medical school classes and
two dual degree student representatives), as well as multiple subcommittees (see below). The
Curriculum Committee charge encompasses an institutional responsibility for the overall
design, management, and evaluation of a coherent and coordinated medical education
curriculum; government of all aspects of curricular content and means of student assessment;
the responsibility and authority to make necessary changes in the curriculum to meet Liaison
Committee on Medical Education (LCME) standards and to ensure fulfillment of the Core
Competence Graduation Goals (CCGGs); and conduction of formal systematic review of the
CCGGs and the curriculum as a whole at least every two years to identify and implement
needed revision. For clarification – the curriculum committee is not the primary body charged
with creating curriculum; however, by following its charge, it has sole authority over all
curricular content.
• Who are my curriculum committee representatives?
o MS2: Sugi Panneerselvam and Aleena Karediya
o MS3: Maria Jaramillo and Ritodhi Chatterjee
o MS4: Amritha Kanakamedala and Michelle Suh
o Dual Degree: Nicole Wang and David Bader

• What kinds of issues can I bring to them?

o The Curriculum Committee oversees the content and organization of the pre-clinical and clinical
curriculum. If you have concerns over course content, course organization, course leadership,
or course grading/evaluations, these are issues to bring up with your class representatives and
they will let you know if it is something we are able to address or if there is another committee
(e.g. Student Affairs) that would better deal with the issue.

• How do I contact my representative?

o Find us in person, or feel free to send us an email at our BCM accounts.

• What are the subcommittees of the curriculum committee?

o Foundational Sciences subcommittee: Oversees pre-clinical curriculum and processes,
addresses ways to improve.
o Sub-Internship and Core Clerkship subcommittee: Oversees clinical curriculum. Brings directors
of all the core clerkships together to share insights, discuss concerns and work on projects that
affect clerkships. Oversees content, quality and consistency of sub-internship experiences.
o Electives subcommittee: Approves new electives, oversees existing electives.
o Dual-Degrees and Enrichment Tracks subcommittee: Reviews the curriculum for dual-degree
programs and medical student track programs.
o Membership and Operations subcommittee: Oversees follow through of CC tasks, recommends
membership to CC for the full committee and its subcommittees.
o Additionally, ad hoc committees which deal with targeted issues, formed and dissolved as
needed.