UConn Health University News

September 9, 2015 | Kim Krieger - UConn Communications

School of Medicine to Launch New Curriculum in 2016

The new curriculum is designed to take into account developments in healthcare, information technology, and adult learning theory.

Detail of the Outpatient Pavilion at UConn Health in Farmington, showing 'UConn.' (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Detail of the Outpatient Pavilion at UConn Health in Farmington, showing 'UConn.' (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Detail of the Outpatient Pavilion at UConn Health in Farmington, showing 'UConn.' (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

The UConn School of Medicine plans to launch a new curriculum in August 2016, in time for next year’s incoming class. The new curriculum will reflect the modern healthcare environment, the explosion in information available, and innovations in adult learning theory.

“We want to create a curriculum that is socially relevant and clinically relevant, to focus on serious issues and have fun doing it,” said senior associate dean for education Suzanne Rose, speaking about the new curriculum during a “state-of-education” address on Sept. 8.

When the School of Medicine’s current curriculum was introduced 20 years ago, it was innovative for its time. It was one of the first to place students in ‘longitudinal practices,’ meaning that students get to see patients from the first day of class, and work in the same primary care practice through three years of medical school. The school intends to keep that aspect of its curriculum, while altering other parts.

We want to create a curriculum that is socially relevant and clinically relevant, to focus on serious issues and have fun doing it. — Suzanne Rose

The new curriculum will be modular, and will progress in stages. Stage 1 is centered around exploration, and will expose students to core concepts and experiences, including case studies, anatomy and biology, clinical care, and community work. It will stretch over 18 months, from September to February of the student’s first two years, with a three-month break from June to August splitting it into two parts. Professors will try to work awareness of current events into the curriculum as well. The Ebola outbreak, gun violence, and the measles vaccine controversy over the past year were all opportunities for education that the medical school should have taken advantage of, Rose said.

Stage 2 will begin in March of the medical students’ second year and continue through the end of their third year, focusing on clinical rotations but including flexible time for electives and board study. Stage 3, the final year of the four-year program, will continue to expose students to clinical work and help them transition from being a medical student to residency as a doctor.

Dental students and joint MD/Ph.D. students will also participate in the new curriculum, though with certain modifications appropriate to their specialties.