Curriculum

Foundations of Medical Practice (FOMP) Courses

The Foundations of Medical Practice courses are organized on the basis of clinical presentations, that introduce students to the practice of medicine through the integration of attitudes, skills, and knowledge that will support their undergraduate medical education at UBC. These courses are interwoven into a learning matrix so that they build longitudinally throughout the MDUP four-year curriculum. Utilizing a case-based approach, these courses foster the development of evidence-based clinical reasoning and clinical skills. Students will also have the opportunity for experiential learning in a clinical setting. With each week focusing on a new clinical presentation, these courses are designed to simulate real-life presentations and responses.

Year 2 Course Learning Outcomes are mapped to the UBC MDUP Exit Competencies, specifically the Enabling Competencies to Achieve Prior to Clerkship, and form the basis of how the Program meets its Social Accountability Mandate, as articulated in the MDUP Mission Statement.

MEDD 421 - Foundations of Medical Practice III

This 14-week course is delivered in Term 1 of Year 2. The educational goals of each individual week are anchored by a specific clinical presentation and are explored through case-based presentations in small group sessions, lectures, labs, self-directed learning activities, and clinical experiences (both simulated and real).

Building on the competencies developed in Year 1 this course continues to enhance student understanding of core medical concepts and skills initiated in Year 1. This core knowledge will prepare students to approach clinical presentations with increased depth and complexity expected in subsequent courses including MEDD 422 and MEDD 431.

MEDD 422 - Foundations of Medical Practice IV and Transition into Clinical Education

This 14-week course is delivered in Term 2 of Year 2. The educational goals of each individual week are anchored by a specific clinical presentation and are explored through case-based presentations in small group sessions, lectures, labs, self-directed learning activities, and clinical experiences (both simulated and real).

Building on the competencies developed in Year 1 and MEDD421 this course continues to enhance student understanding of core medical concepts and skills initiated in previous courses. This core knowledge will prepare students to approach clinical presentations with increased depth and complexity expected in subsequent courses including MEDD 431 and the Clerkship experience.

An increasing focus on preparation for clinical practice is embedded through this course, culminating in consolidation of learning and preparation for the clinical responsibilities and expectations of Year 3. The latter two weeks of this course are referred to as Transition into Clinical Education (TICE) and are designed to assist the students in application of knowledge and familiarization of simple processes and procedures to be performed during clinical rotations. Finally, an assessment week, will provide time for self-directed study and assessment.

MEDD 429 - Flexible Enhanced Learning II

MEDD 429 is the second of three courses designed to foster scholarship, innovation, creativity, critical thought, and community engagement. This course continues from MEDD 419 and allows a medical student to further develop as a scholar and life-long learner extending across the full trajectory of your medical career. The course provides a unique educational space for self-regulated learning, allowing pursuit of individual learning interests and engaging in activities that incorporate scholarly inquiry and promote social accountability. MEDD 429 contributes to the UBC Undergraduate Medical Program’s (MDUP) competency-based curriculum, specifically in the domains of scholar, communicator, advocate and professional.

MEDD 431 - Clerkship

This 48-week course provides students with core experiences across the breadth of medicine through both clinical and academic learning opportunities. Students will interact with patients under the supervision of faculty members in order to develop a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and behaviours described by the UBC exit competencies. Clinical activities will occur in ambulatory, hospital-based settings and in rural and remote rural locations. Patient care opportunities are varied and are influenced by the strengths of the clinical care provided at each site.

In a rotational clerkship, students spend time rotating through various clinical departments within hospitals at their regional home site, with exceptions of rural family practice during which they are placed in communities across the province.  The course is divided into four 12-week blocks covering the following disciplines:

• Women’s and Children’s Health: Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology
• Surgical and Perioperative Care: Surgery, Orthopedics, Anesthesiology
• Brain and Body: Internal Medicine, Psychiatry
• Ambulatory Care: Emergency Medicine, Rural Family Practice, and Ambulatory Care (e.g., Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Geriatrics, Palliative Care)

Students experience MEDD 431 through a rotational clerkship or an Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC).

Students at the Northern Medical Program (NMP) can experience a blend of both clerkship models (Northern Regional Integrated Clerkship or NRIC) with 6 months spent at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) and 6 months in a rural community.

In the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program, students accepted into the VFMP-Fraser Medical Cohort will complete the majority of MEDD 431 in the Fraser Region.

During their second year, students have the opportunity to rank their preferred sites for MEDD 431. If matched to an ICC, an NRIC or Kamloops rotational clerkship, students are required to relocate to the community they are matched to. Clerkship site preference is not guaranteed.

ICC and NRIC students learn about comprehensive care and build professional identity through longitudinal relationships with patients and preceptors. ICC students spend time embedded in a community in locations across the province, working closely with the same preceptors and gaining exposure to multiple areas of medical practice in an integrated fashion throughout the course of MEDD 431.

Students in all rotational models and locations cover the same curriculum to ensure that they acquire foundational knowledge and clinical skills to meet the exit competencies of the program.

MEDD 440 - Electives

This 24-credit course encompasses 6 months of Year 4 of the MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP). Students will choose from available electives that are between 2 and 4 weeks in duration (in province, out of province, and/or out of country) and participate in all relevant clinical and academic activities associated with those electives.

The overall goal of MEDD 440 is to provide students with core experiences across the breadth of medicine in a variety of disciplines and locations through both clinical and academic learning opportunities. Students will interact with patients under the supervision of faculty members to develop a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and abilities described by the UBC MDUP Exit Competencies. Clinical activities will occur in ambulatory, hospital-based, specialist clinics and rural/remote settings across the province, out of province, or out of country. Variability in clinical exposure will draw on the strengths of each site. Research and non-clinical electives will occur in the setting where it can best be completed, at the discretion of the supervisor.

Students will be given roles and responsibilities in keeping with the principle of graduated responsibility. Clinical rotations will include opportunities to perform admission history and physical examinations, create differential diagnoses, order and interpret investigations, initiate management and provide on-going care for patients, as well as opportunities for scholarly pursuits. Students will participate in ward rounds, clinics, and night call (where appropriate). Academic learning opportunities for students may, at the discretion of the elective's supervisor, include interactive seminars and patient-related small group sessions designed to address core topics and competencies in the elective discipline. Students will also have the opportunity for asynchronous self-study using online materials. Foundational science principles are integrated into clinical and non-clinical (research) topics.

UBC MDUP Electives are either 2 or 4 weeks in duration. An elective selection management system is used by UBC undergraduate medical students to make UBC Elective requests and to view available electives.

Students participate in the UBC Year 4 Electives Match through a custom-designed software application. As part of the process, students complete a survey, which gathers their placement preferences in order to schedule students into electives fairly, taking into account capacity and availability. The optimized algorithm randomizes the order of students and reviews each student's choices to assign them to their first-choice elective that has capacity available. Once students are matched into their initial Year 4 elective placements, the Change/Add/Drop opens, allowing students the opportunity to request changes to their elective placements. However, participation in specific electives or at specific sites cannot be guaranteed.

Students may apply for out of province electives through the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) portal. Students may also apply for out of country elective opportunities. Applications for out of country experiences are reviewed by the Home Site Electives Director and by the appropriate UBC Department Educational Lead.

MEDD 448: Transition into Postgraduate Education and Medical Practice

The Transition into Postgraduate Education and Medical Practice (TIPP) course is a 9-week course delivered in Term 2 of Year 4, before students graduate from medical school and move into their residency training programs. The aim of this course is to consolidate previous learning from the spiral curriculum, especially the clerkship component, and to support students in their transition into patient management and life-long learning.

In keeping with the principle of graduated responsibility, the course will provide medico-legal topics, ethical dilemmas and communication challenges the students will encounter at the next level of responsibility and professionalism. Key clinical presentations and on-call scenarios will be reviewed with a view to providing the medical students with a framework to approach such situations. Emphasis will be on practical patient management throughout diagnosis, treatment and referral. There will be opportunities for the students to practice their skills through simulation sessions and standardized patient sessions. The aim is to reinforce and consolidate key concepts from the curricula of the previous three and a half years to meet UBC MDUP Exit Competencies.

Academic learning opportunities will include interactive lectures, small group sessions, standardized patient sessions, simulation workshops and online modules. Students will also have self-directed study time. The course content will be divided into two major categories: Core Topics that explore important non-clinical information and considerations, and Common Conditions that relate to important clinical scenarios.

The overall Course Learning Outcomes are mapped to the UBC MDUP Exit Competencies, specifically the Enabling Competencies to Achieve Prior to Graduation, and form the basis of how the Program meets its Social Accountability Mandate, as in the MDUP Mission Statement.

MEDD 449 - Flexible Enhanced Learning III

MEDD 449 is the third of three FLEX courses designed to foster scholarship, innovation, creativity, critical thought, and community engagement. MEDD 449 consists solely of a 4-week full-time FLEX activity block, in which students can build on scholarly activities initiated in MEDD 419 and/or 429, or start new ones.  Time in FLEX emphasizes social accountability, fosters innovation and critical thought to prepare graduates for roles as scholars, life-long learners, and leaders. MEDD 449 contributes to the UBC Undergraduate Medical Program’s (MDUP) competency-based curriculum, specifically in the domains of scholar, communicator, advocate and professional.