General Competencies and Medical Education Program Objectives

Students must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles.

1.1 Describe and apply the theories and principles that govern ethical  decision making in medicine.

1.2 Demonstrate honesty and integrity in all interactions with patients, their families, colleagues, and others with whom physicians must interact in their professional lives.

1.3 Exhibit an understanding of the threats to medical professionalism posed by the conflicts of interest inherent in the practice of medicine.

Students must demonstrate compassion and empathy with patients.

2.1 Demonstrate compassionate treatment of patients and respect for their privacy and dignity.

2.2  Advocate for the interests of one’s patients over one’s own interests at all times.

Students must demonstrate cultural competence and a commitment to overcome health disparities.

3.1 Demonstrate cultural competence and a commitment to overcome health disparities by providing care to all patients and advocating for access to health care for underserved populations.

Students must demonstrate communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information with patients, their families and health professionals.

4.1  Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with patients, their families and professionals in health and other fields with whom physicians must exchange information in carrying out their responsibilities.

Students must demonstrate teamwork and interpersonal skills that result in effective patient care.

5.1  Demonstrate an understanding of, and respect for, the roles of other health care professionals, and of the need to work in collaborative healthcare teams in caring for individual patients and in promoting the health of defined populations.

Students must demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to patient care.

6.1. Describe the normal structure and function of the body (as a whole) and of each of its major organ systems.

6.2  Describe the molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms that are important in maintaining the body’s homeostasis.

6.3  Describe the various causes (genetic, developmental, metabolic, toxic, microbiologic, autoimmune, neoplastic, degenerative, and traumatic) of disease conditions and the ways in which they operate on the body.

6.4  Describe the altered structure and function (pathology and pathophysiology) of the body and its major organ systems that are seen in various diseases and conditions.

Students must demonstrate effective data gathering skills.

7.1  Obtain an accurate and complete medical history.

7.2. Perform complete and organ-system specific examinations, including a mental status examination.

Students must demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving clinical sciences and demonstrate core procedural skills.

8.1  Recommend and interpret the results of commonly used diagnostic procedures and tests.

8.2. Describe the most frequent clinical, laboratory, imaging, and pathologic manifestations of common disease states.

8.3  Perform routine clinical procedures.

Students must be able to provide patient care that is appropriate and effective for the treatment of health problems.

9.1  Design and explain the basis for appropriate management strategies (preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic) for common acute and chronic conditions.

9.2  Recognize patients with immediately life threatening or serious conditions requiring critical care and institute appropriate initial therapy.

9.3  Demonstrate knowledge of pain management.

Students must be able to able to effectively engage in clinical reasoning and problem solving.

10.1  Reason deductively in solving clinical problems.

10.2  Apply systems based and creative thinking to complex, uncertain diagnoses or other healthcare problems.

Students must appraise and assimilate scientific evidence and apply new knowledge to improve patient care.

11.1  Integrate information from many sources to gain insight into patient care.

11.2  Identify, formulate, and solve healthcare problems by applying principles of engineering, science, medicine, and mathematics.

Students must demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care.

12.1  Demonstrate knowledge of the organization, financing, and delivery of health care.

12.2  Identify unexpected opportunities to provide extraordinary value for patients, populations, and health systems.

Student must be able to demonstrate knowledge about population and epidemiological sciences and the application of this knowledge to the promotion of health.

13.1  Demonstrate knowledge of the epidemiology of health and disease within a defined population and the systematic approaches useful in reducing the incidence and prevalence of those diseases.

13.2  Demonstrate knowledge of the important non-biological determinants of poor health and of the socioeconomic, behavioral, psychological, and cultural factors that contribute to the development and/or continuation of health and disease.

13.3 Identify risk factors for disease or injury, select appropriate tests for detecting patients at risk for or in the early stage of specific diseases and determine strategies for responding appropriately including prevention strategies.

Student must be able to engage in design, evaluative and scholarly activities in order to promote patient health.

14.1  Demonstrate an understanding of the power of the scientific method in basic, translational, clinical, and engineering research.

14.2  Conduct relevant healthcare and engineering research and apply quantitative skills and medical judgment to implement solutions.

14.3  Apply analysis and synthesis to the engineering design process, resulting in designs that address identified healthcare challenges.

Student must be able to apply quantitative reasoning strategies to medical and scientific problems.

15.1  Retrieve biomedical information from appropriate resources and manage and utilize it within a quantitative and statistical framework to solve clinical problems and make decisions.

Student must demonstrate leadership around the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative solutions to health needs.

16.1  Communicate data-based costs, risks, and benefits of engineering solutions to healthcare teams, health systems, medical device manufacturers and other health industry stakeholders.

16.2  Evaluate the feasibility of innovative healthcare solutions to address patient, societal, population and global health needs.

Students must be able to investigate and evaluate their patient care practices, appraise, and assimilate scientific evidence and improve their patient care practices.

17.1  Recognize and accept limitations in one’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors, and continuously improve these attributes.

17.2  Demonstrate an interest in and commitment to lifelong learning to stay abreast of relevant scientific advances.