Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM)
The current ICM program, which runs over the first five semesters of the twelve semester undergraduate medical course, was first implemented in 1999. The program was delivered in a systems-based manner with clear learning objectives and opportunity for supervised practice on campus and in clinical settings. It has proved to be a popular program, with students valuing the opportunity to gain early exposure to clinical medicine.
As part of a consultancy arrangement with the University of Western Sydney (UWS), Dr Jennifer Conn of the Medical Education Unit recently designed a new clinical skills program for the first two years of the UWS medical course. This has provided the impetus for the development of improvements and efficiencies to our own early clinical skills program.
The revised ICM program will continue to emphasise the importance of communication skills, but there will be a greater focus on eliciting the cardinal features of the presenting problem. In Semester 1, students will be introduced to basic communication skills (listening, questioning, clarification). The material will be presented in a highly structured, developmental manner with carefully scripted audiovisual material and activities. There will also be an opportunity for deliberate practice.
The key features of the subsequent semesters of the revised ICM program are:
- Eliciting cardinal features of symptoms in a systems-based manner:
- Learning is grounded in anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology
- Concept of content-specificity is introduced
- Basic clinical reasoning is introduced in an evidence-based manner
- Other elements of the medical interview will be comprehensively taught
- Development of basic communication skills:
- Managing the interview
- Psychological and social factors that influence the interview
- Peer-to-peer communication (written and oral)
- Improved evidence-based physical examination teaching materials
The MEU anticipates that this new program will be adapted for the first year of the new graduate course (to be implemented in 2011), allowing a smooth transition between the two courses.