Proposed revisions to the UW School of Medicine curriculum have been approved by the Medical School Executive Committee, the medical school's elected Faculty Council on Academic Affairs, the UW Faculty Council on Academic Standards and UW President Richard McCormick.

The medical school will begin implementing the revisions in Autumn Quarter of 2001.

Key elements of the revised curriculum and changes in the medical student experience include:

• Assignment of entering students to one of five colleges of about 36 students each with six core faculty members
• Introduction of a Web-based Professional Skills Portfolio for students to measure their progress
• A two-part experience to gain insight into a patient's views of the health-care system and a community physician's perspective on continuity of care
• Four options for completing an Independent Investigative Inquiry requirement, which replaces the Independent Study in Medical Science (ISMS) requirement
• A course on critical reading of the medical literature
• Intensive faculty/student interactions within the five new colleges during the second-year Introduction to Medicine series
• Formal skill assessments using standardized patients, simulations and structured clinical exams
• Addition of a neurology clerkship to the currently required clerkships, and expansion of the required surgery clerkship and chronic care clerkship
• Reduction of the electives requirement to 32 credits and flexibility to choose clinical or non-clinical electives
• A fourth-year capstone course on practice issues, refresher topics, and pre-residency skills

The revisions are the result of a comprehensive, three-year review of the medical school's curriculum. The review was co-chaired by Tom Norris, associate dean of the medical school, and Wayne Crill, past chair and professor of physiology and biophysics and of neurology. The review's work groups and task forces involved more than 80 faculty members and students. In addition, student, resident, faculty and alumni opinions were solicited through focus groups and surveys.

Dan Hunt, associate dean of academic affairs, and Susan Marshall, assistant dean of curriculum, will oversee the curriculum revision implementation.

For full text versions of the revisions, please select the links below.

Explanation of Proposed Changes to the Medical School Curriculum

Description of the Independent Investigative Inquiry