1. R. Cameron (Chair of Basic Science Course Directors Subcommittee)
2. J. Sorrento (Chair of Clinical Course Directors Subcommittee)
3. A. Jaffe (Evaluation)
4. R. Barraco (Teaching/Learning Strategies
   

No reports were made.

1.Course Evaluation of Psychiatry Clerkship (P. Halperin, Director)-S. Fields, J. Fischel-This is a two-week, fourth year clinical rotation offered from mid-September to mid-May. The medical students must take the Morchand rotation first. There are three parts to each rotation:

Course Evaluation:

• participation in 17 seminars, each 1½ to 3 hours with required pre-seminar readings
  
• participation in a review or 'debriefing' of 2 out of 4 of the videotapes made during the students' Morchand standardized patient cases
  
• observation and exposure to clinical interactions in settings at Stony Brook. This includes cardiac group therapy sessions, the sleep clinic, pediatric oncology clinic, inpatient psychiatry consultation service, and the pain service. The students are expected to attend Psychiatry Grand Rounds. The grading system is based on pass/fail. Attendance is required in order to pass. No final exam is given. Much of the course is taught in groups of 8-10 students with interactive learning sessions. The entire syllabus is lent to the students at the beginning of the rotation. There is a great deal of reading for this two-week rotation and the students should read the appropriate material before each session. The binder includes chapters of textbooks, topic review articles from the psychiatric or medical literature, and some clinical practice guidelines. The course builds upon the Morchand experience. Dr. Halperin reviews two cases with the students that are presented on videotapes. There is no computer-assisted instruction as an adjunct teaching tool used.

• Dr. Halperin is a dedicated course director and a dynamic teacher.
• Dr. Halperin reviews all of the Cbase evaluations and meets with the faculty to feedback the information to them. This is extremely important contribution to faculty development.
• Psychiatry in Medicine is well organized and focused. The faculty teachers can take credit for this success.
• The Morchand experience provides one-on-one feedback to students regarding their interviewing and interpersonal communication skills. This is especially important because the students generally focus on getting "correct diagnosis" during the Morchand exercise itself, and are less likely considering their interpersonal and communication skills as primary targets of critique.
• Important topics are covered in the course. This provides an important link with activities of experiential learning to bridge the professional, communication and doctoring skills required of all graduates entering residency training.

• Consider changing "required" reading to "optional" reading and clarify what is essential to read before the particular sessions.
  
• Develop objectives relevant to each didactic session to aid in focusing the student for that material and session.
• Students suggest that having web-based computer interactive cases would be useful to assess whether they have mastered diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders or pain management.
• The students feel that poor preparation and participation in seminar sessions should impact on grade.
  

2. Course Evaluation of Connective Tissue (A. Jacobson, Director)-J. Sorrento, M. Kritzer-This is the last course given in the didactic series in the second year. Dr. Jacobson has replaced Dr. Richard Clark as the course director. Dr. Clark was in charge of the course at the last curriculum review.

The mandatory on-line evaluation of the course on Cbase was rated by almost 100% of the students as average or
good. There is a lot of material given in a small amount of time. Connective tissue and Pharmacology are both offered at the same time. Pharmacology gives an exam at the end of the Connective Tissue course. Connective Tissue only has one exam for its course. Time to study is a limited factor. The sessions on evidence based medicine & tendon disorders were the only part of the course that one-third to one-quarter of the students gave a very poor rating.

 
Changes:

• Expanded introduction section of the course syllabus has corrected the lack of stated course objectives.
• Attendance will be on the Honor Code for the next year. Students must email if they are not attending.
• Labs and small group discussion have been moved to the end of the two weeks to enable students to attend lectures on foundation materials beforehand.
• Insufficient time to study continues to be a problem beyond the course directors' control.
• There has been clear attention to emphasizing the clinical relevance of the material, and to preparing students in concrete ways for their upcoming responsibilities in clinical settings.
• The instructors consist of basic science, clinical, and volunteer faculty from different departments and institutions.
• Dr. Jacobson goes out of his way to bring in experts even though it may be extra work.
• Small group discussions have been changed and updated.
• Dermatology is not Dr. Jacobson's strong suit. He would prefer if it were not included in Connective Tissue. He feels the students would benefit with it being a separate course taught by a different instructor.
• All exam questions are reviewed by the course director (A.
  Jacobson). Wherever possible, in areas where expertise allows the questions are critically evaluated.
• The syllabus has been updated and improved since the last
  curriculum review.
• Materials for labs and small groups should be included in the initial handout, are currently being looked into.
• Centralized support including secretarial and information technology levels are needed to maintain the current standards of Connective Tissue and to enable improvements and innovations to be implemented.
• Dr. Jacobson feels that the on-line exams would benefit the Connective Tissue course.
• Dr. Jacobson is assessable through email, but some of the outside lectures are hard to reach.
  

ACTION: Dr. Halperin is an excellent course director. He is well liked by the students and prepares the two-week course to include the Morchand experience as a positive one.

ACTION: It was recognized that there is a disadvantage to being the last component of the yearlong Systems course. Student attention is also adversely affected by the competing Pharmacology exam. Dr. Jacobson is working with limited secretarial staff to assist him. He is also working with limited information technology levels to help improve and innovate the current standards of the course. He was asked to include on the Cbase evaluation form separate questions dealing with the dermat-ology vs. rheumatology portions of the course.

1. Dr. Roy Steigbigel will replace Dr. Roger Cameron as the chair of the Basic Science Course Directors beginning at the May Basic Science meeting.

2. Proposal for a new Elective in Medical Spanish-M. Eisenberg, J. Trilling, A. Wolfe, C. Ramas, A. Monroe (attached document)-The one-year long Spanish elective would be opened to all first and second year students. The beginner sections are for Medical Students with no prior Spanish language instruction; whereas the intermediate sections would be for Medical Students who completed at least one year of Spanish instruction at the high school or college level. Beginners will focus on basic Spanish skills with the introduction of several medical terms each of the 10 weeks. The intermediates will have limited grammar review each week & cover a body system according to the schedule. Additional attendance at supplementary sessions cover: delivery of culturally competent care to Latinos and "Interpreting Issues" (the effective use of a translator) will be required.

Goals and Objectives:

• Conduct a medical interview
• Direct a patient in the physical exam
• Communicate the patient's diagnosis and treatment plan
• Beginners will focus on generating "yes or no" questions & gathering simple information.
• Intermediates will conduct more complete interviews & physical exams. Intermediates will have the opportunity to be introduced to formal medical terminology in Spanish. This will help them comprehend articles & consult Spanish written articles.
• The Spanish speaking communities in Nassau & Suffolk Country have been increasing in size. The students will be able to communicate better with the patients at the different hospitals.
• MCS 4 is a 4th year course that is offered too late in the medical students' curriculum to help the students.

This past year 2002-2003 a graduate SUNY student provided the instructions along with 2-3 SOM students who helped on a volunteer basis. The graduate student, Ms. Perez, will be willing to continue as the instructor and help train another graduate student to continue on when she graduates from Stony Brook. The course was offered during club time 11:30-1:00 this past year. Dr. Jordan would have to make sure there are no conflicts in club scheduling. Overall, the course would be beneficial to all the medical students. Dr. Roy Steigbigel believes that the course would be an asset to the House Staff and recommended that they be allowed to take. Most discussion focused on whether or not this should be a "for credit" course whose failure would impede students from progressing through the curriculum.

3. Dr. Peter Williams reported on the LCME site visit.

• The committee felt the students were deeply committed to meaningful community service
• They felt positive about the interactions between the school and the hospital and our outstanding record in externally funded research.
• The committees' negative comments were with management of the curriculum. The Dean's Office and/or the Curriculum Committee were/was not sufficiently directive in curricular management.
• The LCME was concerned about the academic advising and the lack of uniformity of feedback to junior faculty with regard to their academic progress.
• The official report will be presented in June.
• Overall, the site visit was a success thanks to over one year of hard work and planning.
  

MOTION:To approve the Medical Spanish elective as described, but offer it as a course whose satisfactory completion would be recorded on the transcript but whose failure would not impede a student's progress through the curriculum

ACTION: Motion Passed.