Medical School: Teaching tomorrow's physicians
Medical College medical students are taught to master the foundation of being a physician. This includes knowledge of normal and abnormal health conditions, the ability to apply problem-solving skills and use the best evidence-based information, and to practice compassionate and ethical care.
"Students benefit from the expertise of Medical College biomedical scientists and physicians, many of whom are nationally and world renowned in their fields," said Kenneth Simons, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Ophthalmology and a Medical College Teaching Scholar. In recent years, more than two dozen faculty have been honored with national and regional awards for teaching excellence. At the College, faculty members are recognized for excellence and leadership in teaching by induction into the College's Society of Teaching Scholars, whose mission is to stimulate innovation in medical education.
The College continues to invest significantly in resources that are shaping modern medical education. High technology resources are increasingly being used to allow students to practice and learn with virtual experiences, prior to real patient care.
The star of recent resources is the College's STAR (Standardized Teaching and Assessment Resource) Center, a large high-tech clinical training center. The center has 12 fully equipped exam rooms, in which students gain experience with standardized patients – people who are trained to portray specific medical conditions. This experience includes practicing compassionate care, such as listening to patients and using understandable terminology. Computer-driven simulators, which are full body adult and pediatric mannequins that respond physiologically like humans, allow students to practice procedures, such as intubation, IV hookup, drug administration and cardiac, OB/GYN, and ultrasound procedures.
"The STAR Center is instrumental in preparing students for the U.S. Medical Licensing exams, which they are required to pass," said Dr. Simons.
"Many Medical College faculty use other computer-based resources to maximize learning opportunities for students asynchronously -- anytime, anyplace,' said Deborah Simpson, PhD, Associate Dean for Educational Support and Evaluation, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, and current co-chair of the Society of Teaching Scholars. "The College's internet-based course/education management system, known as ANGEL, is accessible through any of the 100 computer work stations in our Instructional Computing Labs or remotely from home, hospital, or clinic through a web address. This e-learning system opens a new toolbox of teaching and testing opportunities for our faculty and students."
The first two years of medical school emphasize knowledge of biomedical sciences.
"We have a group of dedicated basic science faculty who place a high priority on the education of medical students," said Gary Kolesari, MD, PhD, Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, and a College Teaching Scholar. The clinical human anatomy course he directs aims to integrate basic science knowledge with clinical relevance, a hallmark of modern medical education. Orthopaedic surgeons, for example, help teach the upper and lower extremity portions of the course and radiologists use medical imaging to teach clinical anatomy. "The goal is to place this basic science knowledge into the context that students will use in their clinical rotations and once they are out in medical practice."
The last two years of medical school emphasize bedside and clinic instruction. "More than 900 faculty physicians see patients from a large and diverse metropolitan population and students benefit from a broad range of substantial patient care exposure," said Philip Redlich, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Curriculum, Professor of Surgery (General Surgery), and a Teaching Scholar. "In addition, more than 1,300 community physicians volunteer significant teaching for students in urban and rural clinics."
The College has outstanding major teaching hospitals in Froedtert Hospital and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus and the Zablocki VA Medical Center nearby.
The Medical College was among the first medical schools in the U.S. to require third-year students to use hand-held computers, known as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) as they learn to apply best evidence in patient care. Students are required to download resources, such as drug databases, diagnostic tools, preventive medicine recommendations, clinical rules and calculators, and immunization schedules.
Students are being prepared to care for the booming aging population. "The College has become a national leader in incorporating new, innovative training in geriatrics in all four years of medical school and in residency training," said Edmund Duthie, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Geriatrics / Gerontology, and a College Teaching Scholar. The College was one of 10 medical schools to receive a comprehensive geriatric medicine education award from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in 2001, which was a catalyst for the College's geriatrics education programs.