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Committees and Groups

Curriculum Renewal Executive Committee

  • Lawrence Chin, MD, Dean of the Norton College of Medicine
  • Sriram Narsipur, MD, Department of Medicine
  • Leann Lesperance, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Medical Education
  • Hannah Connolly, MD/PhD candidate
  • Katie Stuenzi, Project Manager, Dean’s Office COM

Steering Committee

  • Leann Lesperance, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Medical Education
  • Lynn Cleary, MD, Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Hannah Connolly, MD/PhD candidate
  • Rebecca Greenblatt, PhD, Phase 1 Co-Director
  • Rachel Hopkins, MD, Phase 1 Co-Director
  • Matthew Mason, MD, Assistant Dean for Clinical Sciences
  • Katie Stuenzi, Project Manager, Dean’s Office COM

Working Groups

Pre-Clerkship Curriculum Group

The Preclerkship Curriculum Working Group was charged with building a three-semester curriculum that would integrate high-impact foundational science learning with new early clinical experiences and a more-robust health systems science component.

  • Rebecca Greenblatt, PhD, Phase 1 Co-Director
  • Ashley Scott, Administrative Support
  • Amy Caruso-Brown, MD, Bioethics and Humanities, Pediatrics
  • Steven Contreras, Student Affairs
  • Rachel Fabi, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioethics and Humanities
  • Annlynn Fernandes, COM, Class of 2024
  • Lauren Germain, PhD, Director of Evaluation, Assessment and Research
  • Travis Hobart, MD, MPH, Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine
  • Jeanna Marraffa, PharmD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
  • Dana Mihaila, MD, PhD, Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Thomas Poole, PhD, Assistant Dean for Foundational Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Anthony Russo, COM Class of 2022
  • Christine Stork, PharmD, Professor of Emergency Medicine
  • Theresa Stowell, MAT Director of Foundational Sciences

Progress

The Preclerkship Curriculum Working Group solicited input from key stakeholders (course directors and student representatives) to build the curriculum block diagram below.  We are now refining it with input from a broader cross-section of faculty, staff, and students.

Pre-clerkship Longitudinal Clinical Experience Group

  • Rachel Hopkins, MD, Phase 1 Co-Director
  • Kelly Donovan, Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development Program Coordinator
  • Hannah Connolly, MD/PhD candidate, COM class of 2023
  • Dominic Facciponte, Class of 2022, COM
  • Kaushal Nanavati, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine
  • Lisa Oliver, Associate Director of UME, Department of Medicine
  • Carrie Rosemelia, PhD, Assistant Dean for Rural Medicine
  • Erik Rufa, MD, Medicine, Simulation Center
  • Simone Seward, MPH, Student Affairs
  • George Stanley, MD, Assistant Professor of OBGYN
  • Michael Vertino, MD, Associate Professor Neurology

Clerkships / Electives Group

This group was charged with reimagining the clinical medical curriculum, including clerkships, selectives (i.e., AIs and basic science electives) and electives.

  • Matthew Mason, MD, Assistant Dean for Clinical Sciences
  • Susan Anderson, UME Administrative Director
  • Steven Blatt, MD, Pediatrics
  • Risa Farber-Heath, DO, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
  • Roseanna Guzman-Curtis, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Surgery
  • Stephen Lucas, COM Class of 2022

Progress

The Clerkship and Electives working group established goals for the clerkship year as follows:

  1. Expose students to different specialties to become high quality physicians and inform career choices
  2. Increased integration of knowledge and skills across all clerkships, to build throughout the year.
  3. Prepare students for residency by teaching and assessing core professional activities (likely using the Core EPAs system, likely including simulation)
  4. Increased faculty development to build insight into the reason for the components of the curriculum and why curricular changes are occurring
  5. Increased integration of Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Education into clerkships

The group evaluated the amount of time per specialty represented in the clerkship year, with plans to continue to have students rotate through the specialties for the same number of weeks per specialty as they currently do, but the rotations will start 10 weeks earlier than currently.

New Curricular Pathways Group

This group was charged to design a 3-year pathway in medical school that could lead directly to residency at Upstate Medical University.

  • Lynn Cleary, MD, Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Patty Gooden, Administrative Coordinator
  • Stephen Knohl, MD, Medicine Residency Program Director, Professor
  • Elizabeth Nelsen, MD, Pediatrics Residency Program Director, Associate Professor
  • Matthew Sarsfield, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
  • Deborah Bradshaw, MD, Professor of Neurology
  • Lisa Phelan, Academic Affairs
  • Sue Henderson-Kendrick, GME
  • Zsuzsa Meszaros, MD, PhD, Psychiatry Residency Program Director
  • Jennifer Welch, PhD, Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
  • Justin Patricia, COM Class of 2022

Progress

We developed a proposal for a 3-year pathway that is almost identical to the 4-year curriculum, with the addition of required electives in the student's chosen residency discipline during the summer between the first and second year of medical school and a reduction in the number of required electives. We worked with program directors, the admissions office, and the GME office to develop policy and procedures for admission to the program, offboarding, and mentoring and advising throughout the 3-year curriculum.

Assessments

The Office of Evaluation, Assessment and Research under the leadership of Dr. Lauren Germain has been involved in curriculum renewal planning in a number of ways, including development of a plan to evaluate progress toward reaching goals of renewal, looking at an integrated, longitudinal plan of assessment for student progress, and supporting faculty in designing assessments appropriate to the learning objectives. They will continue to offer consultation, guidance, and input as renewal plans unfold.

  • Lauren Germain, PhD, Director of Evaluation, Assessment and Research
  • Josie Suser, MS, Assitant Director of Institutional Research

Health Equity/ Health Systems Science

  • Amy Caruso-Brown, MD, Bioethics and Humanities, Pediatrics
  • Travis Hobart, MD, MPH, Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine
  • Rachel Fabi, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioethics and Humanities
  • Chris Morley, PhD, Chair, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
  • Simone Seward, MPH, Student Affairs
  • Hannah Connolly, MD/PhD candidate

 

 

 

 

 

 

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