FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 15, 2000

CONTACT:
Carole Gan
(916) 734-9040
Pager: (916) 762-2089

Constance Bowe, M.D.
(530) 754-5008
(916) 734-3323

NEW PILOT COURSES OFFER MEDICAL STUDENTS A PATIENT'S PERSPECTIVE ON HEALTH CARE

(DAVIS, Calif.) - UC Davis School of Medicine has embarked in a new direction this year in the education of future physicians. Known for its commitment to primary care and a solid clinical foundation, UC Davis is taking further steps to introduce these concepts in the early stages of a medical student's career.

After several years of discussions, the medical school's Committee on Educational Policy, led by associate professor of neurology Connie Bowe, is introducing two new pilot courses this month, designed to help the students develop their professional competencies, attitudes and skills. The additional curriculum -- a "Longitudinal Course" for second and third year students and Clinical Selectives projects for first year student volunteers -- will expose students to a broad range of topics and aim to improve problem-solving, communication and critical thinking skills while engendering a team approach to medical problems. The doctor's role as teacher, listener and advocate will also be emphasized.

The initiative to offer the additional classes as part of the curriculum came, in part, directly from the students, says Paul Cox an instructor of record and assistant professor of psychiatry at UC Davis. Their experiences in volunteering at one of the seven student-run free clinics throughout the Sacramento area prompted the request for additional clinical opportunities and a chance to further expand relationships with both patients and physicians.

"By giving students a broader array of medical experiences in their first year, they better appreciate the patient's perspective and what a relationship with the patient offers a physician," says Cox. "It makes all the medical learning come alive."

Starting in mid-January, 30 first year students will participate in 18 different active projects over the course of the next two quarters. These selective projects include participating on a bioethics panel or a human subjects review committee; assisting patients in a burn recovery group; and aiding physicians in the initial evaluation and treatment of psychiatric patients. Other selectives center on the areas of adult and pediatric neurology, pediatric cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, gastroenterology and oncology. Prenatal care, substance abuse, telemedicine, and health-care delivery are also included.

For first year student Danielle Wall, taking a clinical selective in adult psychiatry will allow her to explore areas of medicine beyond factual information, she says. Interviewing psychiatric patients may be a challenge -- in some cases more difficult than talking with other patients who can tell you exactly which part of their body hurts -- but Wall says she hopes the experience will be a great teaching tool.

"What I learn from these patients will definitely help me," Wall says. "I don't think I'll feel as uncomfortable talking about uneasy issues with other patients after I go through this experience."

Choosing a clinical selective can be difficult for some students, given the wide range of fascinating topics from which to choose. But for Wall, psychiatry has always intrigued her as an area of medicine off the beaten path. Having an aunt with a history of psychiatric problems, as well as a heart defect, also propelled her into pursuing this particular selective.

Students volunteering for a selectives project are required to participate in their chosen clinical activity for a minimum of 15 to 25 hours over the 20-week period of the course. Another 5 to 10 hours must be spent in consultation with their physician mentor, discussing patient cases and pertinent journal articles that may augment the student's experiences in the clinical setting.

At the end of two quarters, Cox says the students will meet in a debriefing session to discuss their various experiences. The long-range plan is to attract enough faculty members to volunteer as mentors so that the course can be expanded to second year students as well.

Besides establishing good communication skills with patients and faculty members, Cox says the clinical selectives will help students analyze the needs of unique populations and better understand the role of a doctor as a patient advocate. They will witness first-hand that treating patients requires a team approach, not heroics by one individual.

The other pilot course -- MDS 400 -- will incorporate basic science and clinical concepts to take a broad look at specific case studies. Designed to integrate with the existing curriculum, the class discussions will concentrate on taking a multifaceted approach to unraveling medical problems, says Connie Bowe, instructor of record for the new course and associate professor of neurology.

Bowe adds that by teaching a longitudinal course such as MDS 400, the clinical and basic sciences will become less compartmentalized. Students will begin to see how the various sciences complement each other, she says. MDS 400 will also introduce and expand on topics relevant to patient management that currently receive inadequate attention -- psychosocial, economic, ethnic, gender, preventive health, and population issues.

While many national medical schools use small group discussions of case studies as part of their curriculum, Bowe says the goal at UC Davis is not to replace existing curriculum with this format, but rather to integrate it into the existing curriculum. If the pilot courses prove successful, Bowe says the plan is to introduce this multifaceted approach across the four years of a medical student's education. This tactic has sparked national interest in UC Davis's curriculum innovation.

"Medicine is changing so fast that we can't possibly teach our students everything they will ultimately need to know," she says. "However, we can engender a love of learning and encourage them to be the best doctors possible by preparing them as active, life-long learners. These curriculum additions aim to meet those goals."

Copies of all news releases from UC Davis Health System are available on the web at http://news.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

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