Curriculum

While the specifics of the curriculum will vary across campuses, the expectation of competencies gained throughout the MD curriculum is consistent.

For campus specific information, please choose from below:

The unified set of objectives that span all campuses are encompassed in our College-wide Graduation Competencies:

Patient Care

The competent graduate must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health. He/she will be required to construct appropriate management strategies (diagnostic and therapeutic) for patients with common health care problems that may be emergent, acute and chronic across the spectrum of disciplines, while considering costs for the patient and others. The graduate must be able to combine knowledge of basic biomedical, clinical, and cognate sciences to accomplish the above.

The competent graduate must be able to:

• Obtain a full appropriate medical history
• Perform a skillful physical examination
• Formulate a differential diagnosis and problem list
• Perform competently all medical and invasive procedures required for graduation
• Perform order and interpret diagnostic investigations that results in accurate diagnosis and treatment
• Utilize data to reason and solve problems
• Develop management plans
• Consider cultural and socioeconomic factors in management options
• Form an effective therapeutic relationship
• Recognize life threatening health problems and institute appropriate initial therapy
• Construct a therapeutic plan for relieving pain and ameliorating suffering and directed toward specific resolution of health problems
• Counsel and educate patients and their families
• Apply the principles of epidemiology and evidence-based medicine

Medical Knowledge

The Faculty of the University of Illinois College of Medicine believes that any statement of graduation competencies must include mastery of the necessary body of knowledge within the basic, clinical, and cognate sciences to manage patients’ health. Moreover, graduates must demonstrate the skills that will enable them to utilize the concepts and knowledge that will be discovered throughout the years following medical school.

The competent graduate must have a thorough understanding of the:

• Scientific principles of basic and clinical sciences that will enable him/her to competently practice evidence-based medicine
• Determinants of poor health, disease-based risk factors, factors for disease prevention and healthy lifestyles (principles of preventive medicine)
• Principles of patient education
• Principles of epidemiology and population-based medicine
• Principles, risks, and possible benefits of complementary and alternative medicine
• Concepts, principles, and application of evidence-based medicine
• Investigatory and analytical thinking approach to clinical situations to be able to translate new and emerging concepts to improve patient care
• Psychological, social, economic, and cultural factors pertaining to health
• Legal and ethical concepts relating to health care

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

The competent graduate must be able to study, reflect, and evaluate patient care practices, appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and understand their learning needs. He/she must be committed to lifelong learning.

The competent graduate:

• Sets clear learning goals, pursues them, and continuously integrates knowledge gained and applies it to improve medical care
• Assesses his/her strengths and weaknesses in order to improve performance and identify effective ways to address limitations and enhance expertise
• Accesses information effectively, efficiently, critically appraises the information and relates it to their patients’ health problems
• Can deal with uncertainty, and respects the opinions of others
• Understands and admits his/her limits of knowledge; knows what to do when those limits are reached

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

The competent graduate provides compassionate, effective, culturally sensitive patient care while respecting patient autonomy.

The competent graduate:

• Listens attentively
• Communicates clearly with colleagues and consultants
• Communicates clearly with patients and patients’ families
• Manages difficult patients and/or difficult relationships such as angry or manipulative patients
• Works effectively with other members of interdisciplinary health care teams including translators

Professionalism

The competent graduate approaches medicine with integrity and respect for human dignity. They must demonstrate awareness of and commitment to the principles and responsibilities of medical professionalism.

The competent graduate:

• Is aware of the unique doctor/patient relationship
• Knows and admits to his/her limits of knowledge
• Can deal with uncertainty
• Respects the opinions of others
• Recognizes the need to learn is continuous
• Balances personal and professional commitments to ensure that the patient’s medical needs are always addressed
• Recognizes and avoids conflicts of interest in financial and organizational arrangements for the practice of medicine
• Demonstrates integrity
• Demonstrates respect for human dignity
• Recognizes key ethical dilemmas and applies ethical principles
• Demonstrates a commitment to ethical principles pertaining to provision or withholding of clinical care, confidentiality of patient information, and informed consent
• Demonstrates a commitment to excellence and on-going professional development

Systems-Based Practice

The competent graduate demonstrates an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and systems of health care.

The competent graduate:

• Understands the principles of health care delivery and can describe the organization, strengths and limits of various models of  health care delivery systems
• Defines health in terms of the community in which the patient lives (population-based medicine)
• Describes how to appropriately utilize and integrate the services of multidisciplinary health providers
• Practices cost effective health care that does not compromise quality
• Evaluates and integrates hospital and community resources well; minimizes overuse of health care resources
• Works collaboratively with other health professionals to optimize the quality of care rendered, reduce medical error and increase patient safety

Approved by CCIA:  5 December ’07

Approved by College Executive Cmt: 12 December ’07