At Brody School of Medicine, we periodically engage in a deliberative process of identifying specific educational goals and objectives for our curriculum as a whole, in order that our curriculum can remain up to date, relevant and on the cutting edge on medical education content. Each course within the curriculum has also used school-wide goals and objectives to guide the development of course-specific objectives.
BSOM Educational Objectives
The school-wide objectives for Brody School of Medicine graduates were formulated most recently in 2000, based on Association of American Medical College guidelines (the Medical School Objectives Project).
I. Graduates of ECU School of Medicine must be PROFESSIONAL. They will understand and be mindful of the traditions of medicine; be altruistic, compassionate, empathetic, and honest. They will make decisions keeping in mind people’s differing beliefs and values.
Students will have demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the faculty, the following:
- Knowledge of the theories and principles that govern ethical decision-making, and of the major ethical dilemmas in medicine including those that arise at the beginning and end of life, those that arise from the rapid expansion of knowledge and technology, and those that arise from conflicts of interest inherent in organizational arrangements for the practice of medicine
- The capacity to treat patients with compassion and respect their privacy and dignity
- The capacity to be honest and use integrity in all interactions with patients, patients’ families, colleagues, and others with whom physicians must interact in their professional lives
- The capacity to recognize, accept and respond to limitations in one's knowledge and skills
- A commitment to continuously improve one’s knowledge and ability
- A commitment to serve as advocate and utilize resources for the patient's best interest
- A commitment to serving the interests of one’s patients over one's own interests
- A commitment to be mindful of one’s own health and well-being
- An understanding of and respect for the roles of other physicians and health care professionals, and the need to collaborate with them in caring for patients and in promoting health
- An understanding of the threats to medical professionalism posed by the conflicts of interest inherent in various financial and organizational arrangements for the practice of medicine
- An understanding of and respect for matters regarding patient consent and confidentiality
- A commitment to engage in life-long learning
- A commitment to share the wisdom acquired from knowledge and experience through mentoring and teaching
II. Graduates of ECU School of Medicine must be KNOWLEDGEABLE. They will understand the scientific basis of medicine and be able to apply that understanding to the social, ethical, financial, biological, and psychological aspects of medical care.
Students will have demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the faculty, the following:
- Knowledge of the normal structure and function of the body and its organ systems
- Knowledge of the molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms important in maintaining homeostasis
- Knowledge of the various causes of injury and disease and the ways in which they affect the normal function of the body and the normal function of the individual in society
- Knowledge of the determinants of healthy populations including the influence of social, political, legislative, and economic forces on rural and non-rural populations
- Knowledge of the importance of science and medical research in understanding the cause of disease and the efficacy of palliative, curative, and rehabilitative treatment strategies
III. Graduates of ECU School of Medicine must be SKILLFUL. They will be highly skilled in providing patient care including the collection of information and its interpretation and management; and in communicating with patients and colleagues orally and in writing.
Students will have demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the faculty, the following:
- The ability to obtain an accurate medical history that includes personal, cultural, and spiritual issues
- The ability to perform both a complete and an organ-system specific examination, including a mental status examination
- The ability to perform routine technical procedures
- The ability to interpret the results of commonly used diagnostic procedures
- The ability to reason deductively in solving clinical problems
- The ability to construct appropriate management strategies including the diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative aspects of care for patients with common conditions
- The ability to recognize patients with life threatening conditions and to institute appropriate initial therapy
- The ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with patients, patients’ families, colleagues, and others
- The ability to relieve pain and ameliorate the suffering of patients
- The ability to deal with medical uncertainty
- The ability to develop continuous relationships with patients and appreciate the benefits of continuity of care
- The ability to collaborate with others both in caring for patients and promoting the health of defined populations
- The ability to critically evaluate the medical literature and apply it to clinical practice
- The ability to incorporate cost and patient wishes into clinical decision-making
- The ability to care for patients of all ages in a variety of settings
- The ability to recognize the most frequent clinical, laboratory, roentgenologic, and pathologic manifestations of common injuries and diseases and be able to treat them
IV. Graduates of ECU School of Medicine must be GOOD CITIZENS. They will accept personal responsibility for collaborating with other health professionals and for using systematic approaches to promote, maintain, and improve the health of individuals and populations. This requires the application of knowledge in service to their communities and society.
Students will have demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the faculty, the following:
- A commitment to apply knowledge of the important economic, psychological, environmental, social, and cultural factors that contribute to health, illness and injury when treating patients
- A commitment to utilize the knowledge of the epidemiology of common maladies within a defined population, and systematic approaches that reduce the incidence and prevalence of those maladies
- A commitment to know the various approaches to organizing, financing, and delivering health care
- A commitment to recognize and collaborate with other health care disciplines and specialties that contribute to the health of communities and populations
- The ability to identify factors that place individuals at risk for disease or injury, to select appropriate tests for detecting patients at risk for specific diseases or in the early stage of disease, and to determine strategies for responding appropriately
- The ability to collect, process, and apply biomedical information for solving problems and making decisions that are relevant to the care of individuals and populations
- A commitment to provide care to patients who are unable to pay and to advocate for access to health care for members of underserved populations
