Lecturer Basically every course has a lecture component to it, especially in the first two years of the curriculum, which introduces or supplements fundamental concepts. Lecturers are usually selected by the course/clerkship directors or module leaders. Lectures typically range from 60 to 90 minutes. Lecturers are asked to provide detailed handouts for distribution to students. Lectures in the first two years are videotaped and made available to our students on the secure course website.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Facilitator Faculty (both MD and PhD) may volunteer to participate as a PBL facilitator for one segment of a basic science course (segments = 5-7weeks), working with a small group of students (approximately 10) as they grapple with scientific and clinical problems. Except for the Brain and Mind course (which meets twice a week), PBL groups typically meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 8:00am - 9:30am. Faculty are asked to attend PBL facilitator briefings (usually Friday mornings) where the next week’s case is discussed and also to read the PBL case and tutor guide. During the PBL session, faculty distribute PBL case materials, facilitate the group process, track attendance, and assess student performance. Faculty also are asked to be an examiner for the end-of-the course Triple Jump Exam (TJE), which includes attending the TJE examiners’ briefing, grading a written TJE (with answer code) and conducting and grading the oral exam.

Journal Club Facilitator Faculty may volunteer to facilitate a weekly one-hour journal club session (approximately 10 students) during a block segment of MGC or BAM. Journal club facilitators are expected to prepare for each journal club session by reading the article and attending a weekly facilitator briefing. During the journal club, facilitators lead a discussion about the article’s clinical background and purpose, scientific basis of the study, study design and statistical analysis, and results and conclusion. Facilitators are recruited by the course or module directors.

Laboratory Instructor/Small Group Facilitator In addition to PBL and JC, faculty are needed to facilitate other small group sessions in the basic science and clinical courses. Faculty time commitment and responsibilities are dependent upon the course and the purpose of the small group. Each of the basic science courses has a lab component (e.g., histology, anatomy/radiology, physiology, pathology, biochemistry). Course/module directors recruit faculty to be lab instructors, each helping a group of students (20-25 students per group). Labs/small groups typically run for 1-2+ hours; the number of labs per course varies. Faculty are typically expected to be familiar with the case or problem, subject material, and images (if any), as well as any assigned reading. For more information, see the basic science course information below.

Clinical Preceptors Clinical faculty from Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Otolaryngology, Dermatology, Surgery, Ortho, Pediatrics, or Oncology can volunteer, with approval of the Course/Clerkship Director, to be a clinical preceptor in MPS I and the Primary Care Clerkship. Preceptors work one-on-one with students, providing them with direct patient contact, history taking skills, presentation of medical information, and physical exam skills. MPS I faculty see students for 7 (4-hour) weekly sessions; those in the Primary Care Clerkship have 1-3 (4-hour) sessions per rotation (6 rotations per year). Preceptors are responsible for completing an evaluation on their students.

Clinical faculty (Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Surgery, Orthopedics, Oncology) may also volunteer, with approval of the Clerkship Director, to be an Inpatient Tutor for students during the Introductory Clerkship, working with 2 or 4 students, providing them with direct patient contact, history and physical taking skills, and medical information and teaching them how to write notes and do floor presentations.

When attending on their respective units, Medicine, Neurology, Surgery, Anesthesia, Pediatric, Psychiatric, and Obstetrics/Gynecology faculty will likely be working, along with the residents, with those students rotating on the floor at that time and may be asked to assess these students, as well.

Physical Diagnosis Instructor Faculty in Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Surgery, Orthopedics, or Oncology may volunteer, with Course Director approval, to precept second-year students to hone their physical diagnosis skills. Instructors meet with students for seven (4-hour) sessions and provide a written assessment at the end of the seven weeks.

Course Director (and Vice Director) Course and Clerkship Directors/Vice-Directors are typically selected by the Dean and the Senior Associate Dean for Education. Directors are responsible for overseeing all aspects of the course, as well as the work of their associate/module directors who participate in the Course Design Group. They oversee course development and modifications, scheduling, faculty recruitment for lectures and small groups (including PBL and labs), and student assessment.

Associate Directors and Module/Discipline Leaders Many of the basic science courses have “associate directors” or “module leaders” who are part of the Course Design Group and who have specific content areas or course venues (e.g., labs, PBL) for which they are responsible. In MGC, this includes biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, histology, and pharmacology; in HSF, this includes anatomy, radiology, physiology, development biology and embryology, PBL, and histology; in HD, the course design group members include directors for the pharmacology, microbiology, immunology and PBL components; in BAM, in addition to the Course Directors, the design group includes faculty from Psychiatry, Pharmacology, Neurology and Neuroscience, Pathology, and Radiology; and in Basis of Disease, each of the 10 module leader is responsible for his/her own content-based modules: cardiology; pulmonary; renal; GI, reproduction, endocrine, dermatology, infectious disease, rheumatology, and hematology/oncology. Module leaders are usually chosen by Course Directors, with the approval of their department chairs.

Research Mentor (ABS Requirement) Faculty may wish to mentor a medical student in a biomedical research project - broadly defined as hypothesis-driven research in clinical medicine, community health, epidemiology, medical ethics, or basic molecular science. Student research must be consecutive and at least 8 weeks in length and conducted while at WCMC. Typically students select to do research during the summer between their first and second years of medical school, but they may also do it at other times during their medical school training, including while taking a yearlong fellowship. The mentor is responsible for developing with the student the specific learning objective(s) (knowledge, skills, attitudes) and the form of a final written work product. The amount of individual time mentors are required to spend with the students during their research project will be determined by the individual mentor and student. Mentors are required to sign a pre-approval ABS form that acknowledges approval of the student’s plan of study and agreement to serve as the student’s mentor. Completion of this research will lead to the student’s meeting the School’s ABS requirement; in addition, students may apply 4 credits toward the 16 elective credits required for graduation.

Tutorial Mentor (ABS Requirement) Members of the medical college faculty may be approached by students to serve as a mentor in a subject in which they desire advanced training and in which the faculty member is an expert. Tutor and student will follow a mutually agreed upon format. The mentor is responsible for developing with the student the specific learning objective(s) (knowledge, skills, attitudes) and the form of a final written work product. Tutorials are for a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks and often include extensive readings, discussions, and hands-on practice in clinical or scholarly pursuits germane to the subject matter and the agreed upon goals for the tutorial. The amount of individual time mentors are required to spend with the students during those four-plus weeks will be determined by the individual mentor and student. Mentors are required to sign a pre-approval ABS form that acknowledges approval of the student’s plan of study and agreement to serve as the student’s mentor. Completion of this tutorial will lead to the student’s meeting the School’s ABS requirement.