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“The faculty of a medical school ensure that the medical curriculum includes self-directed learning experiences that allow medical students to develop the skills of lifelong learning. Self-directed learning involves medical students’ self-assessment of learning needs; independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information; appraisal of the credibility of information sources; and feedback on these skills from faculty and/or staff.”

LCME Expectations

• Develop self-directed learning (SDL) specific learning objectives in the pre-clerkship phase.
• SDL skills move beyond reading about patients or engaging in a research project. The goal is to prepare students for how they will learn in clerkships, residency, and beyond.
• Identify where and through what types of learning the learning objectives can be practiced.
• Provide appropriate time for SDL activities.
• Provide students with feedback and assess development of student skills.
• Provide faculty and preceptor development.
• Align student and faculty understanding of the SDL definition and purpose.

How It Works at MCW

Climb 2: Students participate in an evidence-based medicine learning exercise. Students choose a patient that prompts a question requiring EBM information. Students formulate a PICO question, identify an AMA-style citation that helps answer the clinical question, and submit their answer to our librarians for individualized feedback.

Neurosciences: Students choose a neurosciences topic of interest and learn independently (identify, analyze, and synthesize relevant information, and appraise credibility of resources). Students share information with peers and course directors during class presentations and receive feedback from their peers.

Foundations of Medicine (FOM): patient-based discussion groups select a topic of interest from a provided list. Each student writes an assessment question following National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) best practices. Each group meets to discuss students’ questions and select the strongest, which they edit together. Each group receives feedback from their faculty member and edits the question further before final submission. The group questions are compiled into a slide deck and reviewed during a review session with the whole class where one representative from each group acts as the teacher to review the question with the class.

Clerkships and Electives: Students may be assigned end of rotation presentations. Students are expected to identify their knowledge gap, research that gap with critical appraisal of resources, and present learnings followed by preceptor feedback.

“The medical school's curricular governance committee ensures that each medical student is assessed and provided with formal formative feedback early enough during each required course or clerkship to allow sufficient time for remediation. Formal feedback occurs at least at the midpoint of the course or clerkship. A course or clerkship less than four weeks in length provides alternate means by which medical students can measure their progress in learning.”

LCME Expectations

• All required courses and clerkships four weeks or longer will demonstrate 100% compliance in providing formative feedback to each student.
  • If compliance is less than 100%, the program must provide an explanation and data to support it.
• Courses shorter than four weeks in length must have some mechanism to provide each student with formative feedback.

How It Works at MCW

Every medical student receives documented formative feedback during each required course or clerkship.

Two workshops on the students’ role in feedback conversations and how to seek/apply feedback to their individual personal and professional development occur during The Good Doctor course in their first and second semester of medical school.

Any student, staff, or faculty can complete a multisource feedback form (MSF) on any student at any time.

Any MSFs and other feedback via mechanisms below are reviewed in one-on-one meetings between a student and their Learning Community Navigator. Opportunities for improvement are then included in their Individualized Learning Plans.

Phase 1

• Early Clinical Courses provide formative feedback periodically through activities like the formative OSCEs (feedback on basic clinical skills and communication), note-writing assignments, clinical reasoning assignments, oral presentations, and an evidence-based medicine assignment.
• Integrated science blocks provide feedback on medical knowledge base via practice questions and quizzes.
• Additionally Patient-Based Discussion (PBD) facilitators provide formative feedback on each student’s contributions during these small group discussions.

Phase 2 and 3

• All clerkship rotations, acting internships, and integrated science selectives are required to complete a midcourse evaluation on every student. This “Clinical Snapshot” form is completed in OASIS and completion is monitored by clerkship leadership.
• Students are also required to complete a mid-clerkship self-assessment using the same mid-course evaluation.
• Phase 3 elective courses are encouraged, but not required, to do the same.
• Additional competency-based feedback is sought by students and completed via the Clinical Snapshot.

Faculty/course/clerkship directors

• Clearly indicate to students when they are receiving feedback.
• Complete all assigned evaluation forms by their deadline.

“A medical school has an effective system of academic advising in place for medical students that integrates the efforts of faculty members, course and clerkship directors, and student affairs staff with its counseling and tutorial services and provides medical students academic counseling only from individuals who have no role in making assessment or promotion decisions about them.”

LCME Expectations

• Advising involves reviewing services and policies, discussing education and career plans, and planning course selection.
• Counseling involves discussing academic difficulties, developing more effective and efficient study skills, reading skills, and/or test-taking skills.
• The advising and counseling program has an infrastructure in place to support all student success while providing outreach to “at risk” students.
• These resources must be available to all students regardless of campus or site.
• The program collects and analyzes data to ensure its effectiveness.

How It Works at MCW

Academic Affairs’ Academic Support and Enrichment (ASE) team provides a variety of services, including academic consultation, peer tutoring, academic enhancement, and boards preparation assistance.

• Students are referred to ASE through self-referral, faculty referral, and/or office outreach.

ASE staff roles

• Three full-time staff members are trained in learning strategies, test-taking skills, time management, and academic success coaching.
• These individuals do not have a role in student assessment, grading, or promotion decisions.

Faculty/course/clerkship director involvement

• Course directors, faculty, and learning navigators routinely contact students who score below designated performance thresholds on exams, referring them to ASE for academic support.
• Students are responsible for initiating contact with the ASE team to begin the support process.

Ensuring program effectiveness

• Feedback surveys are distributed after every tutoring and academic counseling appointment and provided in the slides for all supplemental instruction sessions.
• The AAMC Graduate Questionnaire also collects and reports data relevant to ASE services.

“A medical school has an effective career advising system in place that integrates the efforts of faculty members, clerkship directors, and student affairs staff to assist medical students in choosing elective courses, evaluating career options, and applying to residency programs.”

LCME Expectations

• Coordinated, comprehensive system that includes regional campuses
• Starts in the first year and continues throughout the program
• Access to knowledgeable, trained advisors for career and specialty advising
• Ensure that advisors have training and access to resources
• Effective system for elective advising that is linked to career advising

How It Works at MCW

Medical students participate in the multi-year Careers in Medicine (CiM) program. CiM consists of multiple stages: Career SelfAssessment and Exploration, Career Advising/Decision Making, and Career Search/Preparation.

Faculty Members

• Medical students benefit from a coordinated advising structure that includes Learning Community Advisors, Residency Advisors, and Specialty Department Advisors, each serving distinct roles. Advisors complete training modules on the role of the residency advisor, MyERAS navigation, match data interpretation, and advising checklists. In addition, they have access to a wide variety of internal and external resources to support students effectively.
• Learning Community Advisors provide longitudinal guidance and general career support for MCWfusion students.
• Specialty Department Advisors deliver specialty-specific expertise and recommendations.
• Residency Advisors offer focused preparation for the residency application process.

Student Affairs

• Career Services provides individualized support through one-on-one career counseling, interview coaching, CV review, personal statement guidance, and residency application strategies to help students present their best selves to residency programs.
• Career Services also develops and maintains comprehensive one-stop residency application resources, including internal and national match data, specialty-specific requirements, key timelines and interview dates, a residency application organizer, and detailed checklists to helps students apply strategically.

Medical Students

• Choosing Elective Courses
  • Students receive a document that outlines coursework recommendations for each specialty to help them make informed elective choices.
• Evaluating Career Options
  • Students are provided with a variety of internal and external resources, specialty open houses, and specialty exploration webinars to guide them through the career exploration and specialty selection process.
• Applying to Residency Programs
  • Students have access to a broad range of resources, including prior year match data, specialty-specific requirements, timelines, and application checklists. Support also includes residency application guidance, interview preparation, and overall application strategies.

Resources

• Career Services for Medical Students
• Career Advising Resources for Faculty

“A medical school develops effective written policies that define mistreatment, has effective mechanisms in place for a prompt response to any complaints, and supports educational activities aimed at preventing mistreatment. Mechanisms for reporting mistreatment are understood by medical students, including visiting medical students, and ensure that any violations can be registered and investigated without fear of retaliation.”

LCME Expectations

• Formal policies and procedures are in place and communicated to all students, faculty, residents, and professional staff at all sites.
• Effective processes are in place for reporting, investigation, and follow-up communication. Location/campus-specific data is collected and reviewed to allow for targeted interventions.
• Data is translated into action plans and educational programs for students, faculty, staff, and residents.
• Ongoing monitoring of outcomes occurs through internal student reviews and external surveys (e.g., AAMC Graduation Questionnaire).

How It Works at MCW

Academic Affairs communicates the student mistreatment policy and reporting procedures to all students annually during orientation and in the Medical School Handbook and All Student Bulletin.

A weekly email to medical students from the Senior Associate Dean for Education includes a student concerns navigation reminder and a link to the InfoScope page with additional information.

Every course and clerkship is required to include student concern navigation information in their course syllabus.

All courses are expected to include information in their orientation materials regarding student concerns navigation processes.

All courses and clerkships are required to communicate the student mistreatment and student concern navigation policies to all faculty and staff at all sites/locations at least once annually.

All MCWAH house staff are informed of the student mistreatment policy and reporting procedures during program orientation.

All reports of student mistreatment involve a follow-up communication to the student to inform them of any subsequent investigation and/or action.

Resources

• Medical Student Mistreatment Policy (PDF) (begins on Page 52 of the 2025-26 Medical School Handbook)
• Student Concerns and Complaints page
• Student Concerns Navigation page (internal access only)