Education
Educational Program Objectives (EPOs)
The School of Medicine (SOM) Vision drives the development, implementation, evaluation, and enhancement of all aspects of the SOM. It directly led to the development of the Educational Program Objectives (EPOs). The EPOs are the outcome of our curriculum – they are the specific competencies that our students will demonstrate upon graduation.
The EPOs will drive all elements of curricular development, implementation, evaluation, and enhancement. All course and clerkship objectives will be mapped to specific EPOs. All assessments will be mapped to EPOs. Our varied range of outcome assessments (student performance on OSCEs, examinations, clinical evaluations, 360 evaluation, licensing examinations, etc.) will be used to assess if we are meetings our EPOs.
The table below lists our EPOs. The lefthand column shows the eight General Competencies. The righthand column shows the sub-competencies – these are the specific competencies that are our Educational Program Objectives. These are what our students will achieve and demonstrate by graduation.
| General Competency | Medical Education Program Objective(s) |
|---|---|
| Patient Care | 1.0 Provide patient-centered care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health |
| Patient Care | 1.1 Perform all medical, diagnostic, and surgical procedures considered essential for the area of practice |
| Patient Care | 1.2 Gather essential and accurate information about patients and their conditions through history-taking, physical examination, and the use of laboratory data, imaging, and other tests |
| Patient Care | 1.3 Organize and prioritize responsibilities to provide care that is safe, effective, efficient, and considerate of health care resources |
| Patient Care | 1.4 Interpret laboratory data, imaging studies, and other tests required for the area of practice |
| Patient Care | 1.5 Make informed decisions about diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on patient characteristics and preferences, upto-date scientific evidence, and sound clinical judgment |
| Patient Care | 1.6 Develop and carry out diagnostic and therapeutic patient management plans |
| Patient Care | 1.7 Build alliances with, counsel, and educate patients and their families to empower them to participate in their care and enable shared decision making |
| Patient Care | 1.8 Ensure continuity of care by providing appropriate referral of patients and follow up on patient progress and outcomes across the health care system |
| Patient Care | 1.9 Provide health care to patients, families, and communities aimed at preventing health problems or maintaining health |
| Patient Care | 1.10 Perform supervisory responsibilities commensurate with one's roles, abilities, and qualifications with incorporation of a practice of self-assessment |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.0 Demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and social-behavioral sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to patient care |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.1 Demonstrate curiosity and an investigatory and analytic approach to clinical situations |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.2 Apply established and emerging biophysical, clinical, and/or technologic scientific principles fundamental to health care for patients and populations |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.3 Apply established and emerging principles of clinical sciences to diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making, clinical problemsolving, and other aspects of evidence-based health care |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.4 Apply principles of epidemiological sciences to the identification of health problems, risk factors, treatment strategies, resources, and disease prevention/health promotion efforts for patients and populations |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.5 Apply principles of social-behavioral sciences to provision of patient care, including assessment of the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on health, disease, lifespan progression, medication adherence, lifestyle change, care-seeking, care compliance, and barriers to and attitudes toward care |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.6 Contribute to the creation, dissemination, application, and translation of new health care, scientific, and cultural knowledge and practices |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.7 Demonstrate an awareness of the limitations of human cognition in clinical reasoning and the inherent errors hard-wired into the system. |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.8 Describe the impact of Social Determinants of Health (SDH) on health care outcomes, including disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and mortality. |
| Knowledge for Practice | 2.9 Apply appropriate SDH screening and interventions in patient and population-based care |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.0 Demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate one’s care of patients, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and to continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and lifelong learning |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.1 Actively identify strengths, deficiencies, and limits in one's knowledge and expertise, and incorporate this information into daily practice |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.2 Set learning and improvement goals |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.3 Identify and perform learning activities that address one's gaps in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or behaviors |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.4 Systematically analyze practice using quality improvement methods, and implement changes with the goal of practice improvement |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.5 Actively seek out and incorporate feedback into daily practice |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.6 Locate, appraise, and assimilate evidence-based knowledge to guide clinical decisions |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.7 Use information technology to optimize learning |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.8 Actively participate and engage in the education of patients, families, students, trainees, peers, and other health professionals |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.9 Obtain and utilize information about individual patients, populations of patients, or communities from which patients are drawn to improve care |
| Practice-Based Learning and Improvement | 3.10 Continually identify, analyze, and implement new knowledge, guidelines, standards, technologies, products, or services that have been demonstrated to improve outcomes |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.0 Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.1 Build relationships and alliances in order to communicate effectively with patients, families, and the public, as appropriate, across a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.2 Build relationships and alliances in order to communicate effectively with colleagues within one's profession or specialty, other health professionals, and health-related and community-based agencies (see also 7.3) |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.3 Work effectively with others as a member or leader of a health care team or other professional group (see also 7.4) |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.4 Act in a consultative role to other health professionals |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.5 Maintain appropriate, up-to-date and timely medical records that clearly delineate key points in a patient’s care |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.6 Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, and compassion in difficult conversations, including those about death, end of life, adverse events, bad news, disclosure of errors, uncertainty, other sensitive topics |
| Interpersonal and Communication Skills | 4.7 Demonstrate insight and understanding about emotions and human responses to emotions that allow one to develop and manage interpersonal interactions and demonstrate self-awareness of responses |
| Professionalism | 5.0 Demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles |
| Professionalism | 5.1 Demonstrate compassion, humility, integrity, and respect for others |
| Professionalism | 5.2 Demonstrate empathy and responsiveness to patient needs that supersedes self-interest |
| Professionalism | 5.3 Demonstrate respect for patient privacy and autonomy |
| Professionalism | 5.4 Demonstrate accountability to patients, society, and the profession of medicine |
| Professionalism | 5.5 Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to a diverse patient populations, including but not limited to diversity in age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, and socioeconomic status |
| Professionalism | 5.6 Demonstrate a commitment to ethical principles pertaining to provision or withholding of care, confidentiality, informed consent, and business practices, including compliance with relevant laws, policies, and regulations |
| Professionalism | 5.7 Demonstrate an awareness of the diversity of ethical frameworks. |
| Professionalism | 5.8 Provide appropriate role modeling to peers, individual patients, and society at large, including the utilization of reflective practice |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.0 Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal healthcare |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.1 Work effectively in various health care delivery and communitybased settings and systems |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.2 Coordinate patient care within the health care system |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.3 Incorporate considerations of cost awareness and risk-benefit analysis in patient and/or population-based health care delivery |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.4 Advocate for equity in health care outcomes for all, including consideration of high-quality patient care, optimal health care systems, and social determinants of health. |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.5 Utilize Quality Improvement methodologies to identify system errors and implement potential systems solutions to advance patient care |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.6 Perform administrative and practice management responsibilities commensurate with one’s role, abilities, and qualifications |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.7 Demonstrate attentiveness to team process and one’s role in a health care team |
| Systems-Based Practice | 6.8 Apply knowledge of population health data and strategies to improve health outcomes of the community |
| Interprofessional Collaboration | 7.0 Demonstrate the ability to engage in an interprofessional team in a manner that optimizes safe, effective patient - and populationcentered care |
| Interprofessional Collaboration | 7.1 Work collaboratively with other health professionals to establish and maintain a climate of mutual respect, dignity, humility, diversity, ethical integrity, and trust |
| Interprofessional Collaboration | 7.2 Use the knowledge of one’s own role and the roles of other health professionals to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of the patients and populations served |
| Interprofessional Collaboration | 7.3 Communicate with other health professionals in a responsive and responsible manner that supports the promotion of health and the treatment of disease in individual patients and populations |
| Interprofessional Collaboration | 7.4 Participate in different roles on a team to establish, develop, and continuously enhance interprofessional teams to provide patientand population-centered care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.0 Demonstrate the qualities required to sustain lifelong personal and professional growth |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.1 Develop the ability to use self-reflection and feedback to identify limitations in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors, and to engage in appropriate help-seeking behaviors |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.2 Demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms to respond to stress |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.3 Manage tension between personal and professional responsibilities |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.4 Practice flexibility and maturity in managing and adjusting to change and uncertainty with the capacity to alter one's behavior |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.5 Demonstrate the skills and professionalism that engender the trust of the patients, families, and the entire health care team |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.6 Demonstrate leadership skills that enhance team functioning, the learning environment, and the health care delivery system |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.8 Recognize that ambiguity is part of clinical health care and respond by utilizing appropriate resources in dealing with uncertainty |
| Personal and Professional Development | 8.9 Demonstrate behaviors that promote wellness, resiliency, and prevention of burnout |