Medical School

MCW Pathways include: Clinician Educator, Global Health, Quality Improvement & Patient Safety, Master Clinician, Physician Scientist and Urban & Community Health.

All students have protected time on Thursday afternoons for their required Core sessions (monthly), and to pursue experiential noncore activities related to their Individual Learning Plan.  These activities differ by Pathway, but may include targeted clinical shadowing, mentored research, development of their Scholarly Project, service learning, appropriate seminars or other advisor-approved experiences (see specific Pathway guidelines for appropriate noncore activities).

No formal or required Pathway activities will be scheduled during other courses.  However, it is possible that individual students may choose noncore experiences that fall outside of Thursday afternoons.

Students will “Pass” the Pathway for the year if they 1) attend all core sessions, 2) submit an advisor-approved Individual Learning Plan, 3) Log the minimum number of hours of non-core activities (tied to the ILP goals), 4) submit required Pathway-specific assignments (e.g. synthesis paper/ portfolio/ progress report) and 5) complete a Scholarly Project. 

The oral component of the Scholarly Project can be presented at the Scholarship Forum in May of the M3 year.

Any scholarly driven activity can fulfill the Scholarly Project requirement (e.g. research, case study with literature review,  community educational outreach, quality improvement, or community-based service learning project), that is consistent with Pathway goals.  The project must meet Glassick’s Criteria for scholarship (i.e. clear goals, adequate preparation, appropriate methods, significant results, effective presentation, reflective critique).  Projects must be proposed and approved by the students’ project mentor and the Pathway Director prior to commencing, and must comply with all Animal and Human Subjects protection policies at MCW, IRB's. The Scholarly Project has both a written and oral presentation component. For examples of last years projects, please see the Scholarship Forum webpage.

It is strongly recommended that the Scholarly Project align with Pathway goals.  Students who pursue summer research may count the time spent in preparation or follow-up for this project during the school year ONLY if the project is relevant to their Pathway goals.   If in doubt, the student should consult their Pathway Director.

M-1 students are required to attend the Introduction to Pathways (ITP) sessions scheduled in September, which provide an overview of each Pathway perspectives, activities and expectations.  In addition, course Syllabi, Core session schedules and examples of last years projects have been posted in the ITP course in ANGEL. More information can also be found on the Scholarly Pathways website.  Students may also contact the Pathway Directors or Coordinators for help selecting a pathway.

There is indeed the potential for overlap across Pathways, particular in the selection of noncore activities and projects.   For example, a student evaluated an educational program for clinicians to improve identification of elder abuse in the community.  This is a clinical topic, and an educational research project, in collaboration with a community agency – so could have been appropriate for CE, PS, QuIPS or UCH Pathways.  Similarly, patient care activities in an urban, Latino community could be relevant to GH, QuIPS or UCH Pathways.  Students should be advised to select a Pathway based upon the primary competencies they hope to achieve, the Core sessions to be covered, and their ultimate career goals.

Each Pathway has a progressive curriculum, providing a longitudinal experience. Therefore, it is recommended to select a Pathway carefully and remain engaged in the same Pathway for the entire 3-years.  However, as students’ interests and goals change over the course of medical school, they are given the option to change Pathways at the beginning of each academic year.

Yes.  The students' CV and residency application should reflect their accomplishments, and can include research, community service or other unique contribution, even if done as part of a required component of the curriculum.

Students are required to attend their scheduled Pathway Core sessions.  On the Thursday afternoons when there are no core sessions, they are asked to leave their clerkship to pursue Pathway noncore activities. 

All clerkship directors know that students are required to attend to their Pathway obligations.  Before embarking on a clinical activity that may extend beyond noon, students should remind their team that they have Pathway obligations in the afternoon and will need to be relieved.  We would hope team members would respect and support the students’ competing professional responsibilities.

Student assessments are done by the Pathway Advisor at the mid-semster and end points of the semester.
In turn, students provide formative evaluation of the Pathways through monthly core session evaluations, focus groups and participation in the Pathway Planning Councils.  Formal course evaluation is conducted by the Office of Academic Affairs and CEC as is done with any other MCW course.
 

Yes, any faculty member can propose a new educational experience to the CEC, which will then be reviewed.  However this process takes time.  In the meantime, within each Pathway there is significant flexibility and individualization.  Faculty members who are interested in proposing a new Pathway should contact David Brousseau, MD, MS.

The advisor should address the student directly and help them adapt their ILP and identify appropriate learning opportunities.  If the student is not compliant, the Pathway Advisor should notify the Pathway Coordinator or Pathway Director as soon as possible.  Together they can determine which measures are appropriate.