The UNMC College of Medicine doesn’t want its students memorizing textbooks anymore.
Beginning in the 2017 fall semester, UNMC is embracing Training the Physicians of Tomorrow (TPT), a new active learning-based curriculum that emphasizes hands-on learning techniques, small-group interaction, technology and research and inquiry.
Accomplishing such a massive curricular overhaul has been largely in response to a changing student body.
Watch a video on the initiative here.
“Students are a lot different now than they were even 10 years ago,” said Geoffrey A. Talmon, M.D., associate professor of pathology/microbiology, vice chair of medical education.
“Our focus, based on how students have changed, is less about simply dishing out information, but instead is focused on teaching students how to use information they find independently.”
This new experiential pedagogy also includes a substantial shift in thinking for the College of Medicine faculty and staff.
“UNMC’s faculty has embraced transformative change as a way to provide students with a curriculum that is not only more exciting and innovative, but more contextual, more practical,” said Pamela Arellano, curriculum transition coordinator.
“Every hour of every day of TPT has been carefully crafted with the 21st century student at its center. Faculty are not only going above and beyond preparing students to pass board exams; they are considering what kind of medical professionals tomorrow’s health care system will need,” Arellano said.
Increasing students’ mastery of tools such as ultrasound and electronic medical records systems and fostering independent research from scholarly sources are just some of the innovations College of Medicine students enrolled in TPT can expect to engage in.
Community-based team problem solving, interprofessional education opportunities, and UNMC’s stellar clinical experiences await the Class of 2021.
“The days of being able to hide in a lecture hall of 300 students are over,” Dr. Talmon said. “Every single day, the students will be in groups, working with other students, taking part in projects, actually preparing to take care of patients.”
See the new Training the Physicians of Tomorrow website here.
So, you are saying, as I long suspected, that UNMC has been focusing on preparing students to pass boards?! Does that mean that we will get rid of the shelf exams so that students now read about their patients instead of studying for the shelf exams that are now a big part of their evaluations. The shelf exams have always struck me as classic memorization and regurgitation considering how much emphasis has been put on actual adult learning theories.
Thanks for your interest in Training the Physicians of Tomorrow (https://www.unmc.edu/tpt/). The TPT curriculum emphasizes active learning, utilizing methodology such as small group exercises and interactive technology, to help reinforce what students will learn. ‘Shelf’ exams are still an integral part of ensuring students are prepared to become practicing physicians and are required by the National Board of Medical Examiners. For more information on standardized testing, visit http://www.nbme.org/students/Subject-Exams/subexams.html.