New Med curriculum wins student approval

When the School of Medicine introduced its revamped Curriculum 2000 last fall, faculty and administrators claimed its greatest benefits included exposing students to the clinical aspects of medicine earlier in their education, as well as courses emphasizing the connection between patient care and basic science. But one semester after its debut, first-year students said their favorite aspect of the new curriculum is much simpler -- more free time. Student reaction to the new curriculum was generally positive, with many praising it for its expanded educational focus, as well as creature comforts like a staggered exam schedule and a first-semester pass/fail grading policy. Like most institutions, the University has traditionally educated medical students according to the tenets of the Flexner report of 1910, which emphasized basic science education followed by clinical training in a university hospital. The new curriculum does things a little differently. Related basic science courses are taught simultaneously and students are allowed to begin clinical work at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania during their first month of medical school, rather than in their third year. While taking basic science principles in the morning, this fall's first-year class spent two afternoons each week learning about the technology and practice of medicine at HUP as part of the new curriculum. Being at the hospital gave them the opportunity to learn how to interview and diagnose patients within the first few weeks of their medical education, Medical School Vice Dean of Education Gail Morrison said. Many of the first-year students praised the new curriculum, particularly its emphasis on clinical care. "I like that we got a lot of clinical exposure early on," first-year Medical student Portia Krieger said, noting that Curriculum 2000 was the main reason she chose to come to the University. Krieger, who served on a committee evaluating the new curriculum, noted that other medical schools do not give students clinical opportunities until much later. First-year Medical student Ken Wang said most med students spend their first years "caught up in all the basic science." "Seeing patients in the hospital reminds us why we're at med school and ties everything together," he added. Several students also complimented on how the new curriculum draws connections between the material taught in their basic science courses. The curriculum combines microbiology and pharmacology, for example, allowing students to learn about the causes of certain infections and diseases at the same time that they learn about the effectiveness of different treatments. Curriculum 2000's exam schedule and pass/fail policy also won praise from students. "I am glad our exams were staggered throughout the semester," student government representative and first-year student Cara Pellegrini said. "The second-years have bloc exams, so they go for a month without any tests and then they have several all at once." And Morrison noted that because first-semester courses are graded on a pass/fail basis, "students worked together in small groups and cooperated rather than competing against each other." Although the response to the first semester of Curriculum 2000 was overwhelmingly positive, students and administrators identified several areas for future improvements. Several students complained that the program's condensed curriculum -- which taught anatomy material usually covered in 120 hours in only 60 -- moved too quickly and did not offer enough time for review. "Anatomy was a big problem for a lot of people in the first-year class because we had to learn so much material in such a short time," Wang said. And Krieger added that "some of the professors weren't very well prepared and assumed we knew more than we already did." But the first-year students agreed that Medical School faculty and administration have been receptive to their input on the new curriculum. Krieger explained that a curriculum committee comprised of faculty, administrators and first-year students meets every Friday to "discuss what went right and what could have been better during the past week of classes." And Wang called the professors and administrators "very accommodating." "They have listened to our feedback, and if they don't change things for us, they will change them for future classes," he said. Overall, Pellegrini said the new curriculum has exceeded her expectations. "I can't imagine having gone anywhere else," she said.

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