Problem Based Learning: Doctoring 1 is a two semester course known as "Introduction to Patient Evaluation." Its purpose is to teach first year medical students the basics of communication involved in history taking, the basics of physical examination, and the ability to integrate these two sets of skills. It also integrates an introduction to cultural competence and brings in material from psychiatry, ethics, epidemiology and physical diagnosis. It is a required course for all first year medical students.

The bulk of the experience in the Doctoring 1 series is within the Problem-Based Learning format. In PBL, facilitators work with groups to guide them in the process of solving problems, with the problems carefully engineered to require the students to meet the learning objectives of the course. The problem solving involves using simulated patients who present with medical complaints with psychosocial issues embedded. Discovering and following up with the medical complaints will necessitate probing family history, psychosocial structure of a family, ethics, legal obligations, etc. In the process of solving problems, the group has to learn what it does know, what it does not know, and how to gain the information needed to solve the problem. The role of the facilitator is to guide the group at a metacognitive level, that is, by asking questions that will make the group think about how to think about the problem solving process. In this way, the medical students begin to learn to consider hypotheses about what might be triggering patient symptoms and reactions, and learn to think about and develop strategies to test those hypotheses in the problem solving process – that is, to think like a clinician.

While the best facilitators minimize what they say to their group, they also bring out the optimal performance of the group in learning how to form together and work as a group and to rely on one another in solving problems – core skills for any physician throughout her/his career. Psychology interns co-facilitate with a physician nine times for 3 hour sessions. There are training sessions to learn Problem-Based Learning prior to the winter semester and additional supervision as requested during the course to discuss group dynamics.

Standardized Patients: Practicum is a training and evaluation experience for the first year medical residents. Dr. Henderson is the Director of Training for this program. Each resident is asked to interview and do a physical on a simulated patient. The exchange is observed live through a video monitor by a MD faculty and a Behavioral Scientist. It is also videotaped. The physician’s job is to provide feedback regarding the resident’s history taking, physical exam, thinking process, note writing/documentation, and oral presentation. The Behavioral Scientist’s job is to review the videotape with the resident to provide feedback regarding their interviewing skills and address any interviewing challenges as they are identified.

The Practicum occurs two times a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. It is a one day commitment; Behavioral Medicine clients are not seen on that day. Two follow-up review sessions are scheduled shortly after the exercise during the noon lunch hour. Materials explaining the exercise are provided several weeks before the exercise and one Wednesday group supervision session will be dedicated to this process.