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Marcellina Mian, M.D., Clerkship Director
Mai Mahmoud, M.D., Associate Course Director
Deema Al-Sheikhly, MRes, Clinical Curriculum Coordinator

Welcome to Medicine, Patients and Society I (MPS I). This course is designed to introduce students to important principles related to being a practicing physician. The knowledge and skills that students will acquire in this course will form the foundation for building competence in professionalism, communication and interpersonal skills, patient care, medical knowledge, systems based practice and practice-based learning, and are important building blocks in the development of a student’s professional identity.

This course is designed to involve students in a structured curriculum to achieve the following objectives:

Knowledge

• Appreciate the special nature of the physician patient relationship
• Understand the structure of the medical interview
• Define communication techniques and styles
• Identify clinical reasoning strategies
• Identify how patient care changes in the different stages of the life cycle
• Outline types of complementary medicine
• Describe the general principles of clinical nutrition in preventative medicine
• Identify the core principles of global health initiatives

Skills

• Take vital signs of adult and pediatric patients
• Apply communication techniques to elicit medical histories
• Elicit nutrition histories, evaluate patient diets, and provide dietary counseling
• Provide patient education and counseling for behavior change
• Apply the principles of biostatistics, epidemiology and evidence based medicine (EBM) to clinical scenarios

Attitudes

• Appreciate different styles of medical practice
• Recognize how age, social class, gender, race, ethnicity and culture influence health care delivery
• Develop a professional identity and demeanor
• Recognize and accept ambiguity and uncertainty in clinical situations and medical decision making

The course consists of several modules listed below. Module leaders’ names are in italics. The Medical Encounter module is divided into 4 sections: The Medical Interview, The Physician-Patient Interaction, Life Cycle and Socio-medical Issues.

The course is held one day a week (one morning session and one afternoon session). Students attend a large group session and participate in a small group (skills group/seminar) as scheduled. In the morning and possibly some afternoons, students will be scheduled for an office preceptor session or lecture or have the opportunity to sign up for an elective activity. The course is held while the Medical College is in session, as per the course schedule.

Large group sessions include lectures, interviews with patients, physician panels, video clips, and role-plays.

The skills groups serve as a laboratory to learn and practice clinical skills and as a forum to reflect upon the office preceptor experiences. Students are divided into groups and supervised by a faculty member (the skills group facilitator). Seminars are also held in the Biostatistics/Epidemiology and Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) modules.

This is an exciting opportunity to see clinical practice in action and for students to use their newly acquired clinical skills. It is also a chance to observe and discuss topics from the large group sessions.

The dates and format of written exams will be specified in the individual syllabi provided for each course component. Students must pass the exam in order to receive a grade of Pass for each section.

Successful completion of an OSCE at the end of the year is required for passing the course.

Student assessment is based on attendance, participation, the quality of written reports, and performance on written examinations. The course is divided into 3 grading sections. The first grading section includes the Medical Encounter Part 1, Skills Group Session 1 and the first Office Preceptor evaluation. The second grading section includes assessments for performance in Biostats/Epi and EBM modules. The final grading section includes assessments for the Medical Encounter Part 2, Skills Group Session 2 and the second Office Preceptor evaluation.

Students will receive a grade (Honors, Pass, Marginal, Fail) from each section of the course, as well as an overall grade at the end of the course. Only the overall grade will appear on the transcript.

The final grade will be comprised of an assessment of performance in the following domains:

• Attendance
• Skills Group
• Office Preceptor Session
• Examinations/Written Reports