The UNMC College of Medicine recently received the Award for Excellence
for Curricular Innovation and Interdisciplinary Collaboration. The award
was based on UNMC’s performance during the Interdisciplinary Generalist
Curriculum (IGC) Project.
UNMC was one of 10 medical schools selected to participate in the three-year
project. From 1994 to 1997, UNMC received approximately $300,000 to help
implement innovative primary care curricula during the first two years
of medical training. The grant was funded by the Health Resources Services
Administration and is administered by the Society of Teachers of Family
Medicine.
“We were fortunate to gain acceptance into the IGC project,” said Jeffrey
Susman, M.D., professor of family medicine and associate dean for faculty
development. “We went through a competitive cycle, and UNMC was one of
five institutions selected to participate during the first year.”
Participating schools funded from 1994 to 1997 were Eastern Virginia
Medical School, the Medical College of Ohio, the University of Wisconsin-Madison
and the University of Colorado. From 1995 to 1998, the following schools
were funded: Marshall University, Nova Southeastern University College
of Osteopathic Medicine, the University of California-San Francisco, the
University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Vermont.
Dr. Susman said he received much support from Harold M. Maurer, M.D.,
UNMC chancellor, who, at the time, had just begun serving as dean of the
College of Medicine.
“Dr. Maurer and the primary care physicians were extremely supportive
in helping us secure the grant,” he said.
The IGC project encouraged the collaborative efforts of the departments
of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. It required first-
and second-year medical students to spend a minimum of 150 hours of generalist
curriculum time. At least 50 percent of this amount was devoted to direct,
supervised clinical experience with generalist physician preceptors
or mentors from one of the three primary departments, including more than
100 community preceptors.
Throughout the project, Dr. Susman met with representatives from the
other participating schools. “Because we met regularly with the other institutions,
we were able to learn from each other as we went along,” he said.
Dr. Susman said he believes there is value in sharing ideas with other
medical schools. “It is helpful to see what you can glean from other schools
and take back to your own institution.”
The goal of the IGC project is to learn what works and does not work
in curricula innovation within 10 individual institutions. Lessons emerged
in the following areas:
Interdisciplinary collaboration.
Community preceptor recruitment and retention.
Faculty development (both community-based and university-based faculty).
Integration of clinical and nonclinical teaching through an early clinical
experience.
Integration into the four-year curriculum for medical students.
A supplement outlining the IGC results will be published by Academic
Medicine next year.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than
$34 million in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists
annually. In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for
training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other
institution.