Undergraduate Report

Welcome to the 2021-22 academic year! As we continue to navigate the COVID pandemic, undergraduate medical education at Schulich is in full swing!

There are several new members of the UG team to introduce; Thank you to Drs. Omar Zghal (Windsor) and Derek Gateman (Listowel) for joining the Family Medicine Undergraduate committee. This committee is responsible for all-things Family Medicine in UG education and having adjunct faculty on the committee is extremely valuable. A warm welcome to Laura Sparrow, who is covering the Undergraduate Program Coordinator role while Michele Vanderspank is on maternity leave.  Lastly, Schulich has a new UME Vice Dean – welcome to Dr. Shannon Venance who was appointed after Dr. Gary Tithecott finished his term.

Pre-clerkship teaching this fall is planned for in-person for small groups and virtual for large groups. Fourth year electives have started and will continue through January 2022. A huge thank you to faculty who are hosting Western students for Family Medicine electives and promoting what a rewarding career they can have if they choose FM for residency! Third year clerkship started in late August and will continue until August 14, 2022. Again, this year, students will participate in 8 weeks of family medicine – 4 weeks of FM Core at one of 6 full-time teaching sites, and 4 weeks of FM Plus based in community/distributed sites. Please note that all students who are placed into clinical rotations are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The start of the academic year also brings many teaching opportunities for full-time and part-time faculty. For Family Medicine, one of the most important teaching initiatives is the Longitudinal Clinical Elective (LCE). The LCE places first and second year students with Family Physicians for a few days a month, over several months to provide early exposure to generalism in medicine. At the preceptor’s discretion, students may gradually become more involved in clinical activity over time. This course was launched in the fall of 2019 but was suspended in early 2020 due to the pandemic. The course will be re-launched in January 2022 and UG will be reaching out looking for preceptors to take on students for 4-6 half days through the winter/spring. This experience will replace the previous Family Medicine clinical methods course.

Other UG teaching opportunities include:

QI Project Advisor
Inquiries: jane.stokes-rees@schulich.uwo.ca
Faculty members will expose a group of approximately 6 students to a real-life challenge or opportunity for improvement within the health care system, in your own setting. The students will analyze that problem, applying QI science to understand it and to seek solutions to address root causes. In the end, they will design a basic quality improvement project to address your identified opportunity.

  • Duration: Oct 2021 – April 2022; approximately 10-15 hours total

Academic Coach
Inquiries: jane.stokes-rees@schulich.uwo.ca
Faculty members will have a key role in the support of student success in learning. Faculty would meet regularly (i.e. monthly) with individual students to review their academic progress throughout the year. Academic coaches are not meant to provide career coaching.

  • Duration: approx. 1 hour monthly, 1:1 relationship with a medical student, ideally throughout undergraduate years 1-3

Professionalism Career & Wellness (PCW) Small Group Facilitator (Year 3-4)
Inquiries: jane.stokes-rees@schulich.uwo.ca

A faculty member who guides a group of 5-8 students through years three and four of the longitudinal course supporting non-medical skills development of professional identity, personal wellness, and career success. Facilitators are expected to meet face-to-face with their student groups twice a year to facilitate case presentations and discussions. In addition, facilitators will review and provide feedback on student journals, personal statements, and CVs. 

  • Duration:  Two-year commitment; 30-35 hours per year 

Professionalism Career & Wellness (PCW) Reflection Grader (Year 1 or 2)
Inquiries: jane.stokes-rees@schulich.uwo.ca

A faculty member who provides written narrative feedback on 4-10 student reflections, twice per year (December and May) The reflections should focus on a meaningful topic from within the PCW course and can be submitted in any format.  

  • Duration: 4-20 hours/year  

 

Case of the Week Process Facilitator 
Inquiries:  Melissa.Veens@schulich.uwo.ca
A faculty member who meets weekly with 2 small groups of 6-7 students to guide them through their analysis and decision making around the Case(s) of the Week.  The faculty member is an expert facilitator not a content expert and ensures appropriate collaborative team growth over the course of the semester. Students present a case and Facilitator provides verbal feedback.   

  • Duration:   Time commitment is 6 weeks for one hour each.  

 

Integrative Small Group Facilitator (ISGL)
Inquiries: isgl.admin@schulich.uwo.ca

A faculty member from any discipline (not content experts) who meets weekly with a group of 6-7 students over a semester to explore the full context of medicine (for example: ethics, social determinants of health, epidemiology, health care systems). The faculty member is an expert facilitator, not a content expert. The students are expected to come prepared and to take responsibility for running the sessions. Sessions will be scheduled between 8:30 am and 8 pm Monday to Friday. Facilitators will be required to review 1 student self-assessment, 2 formative assessments (early and mid-term), 1 final summative assessment, and a group presentation assessment.   

  • Duration: 8-18 weeks per semester, 2 hours weekly, plus 1-hour prep time.  

 

Clinical Skills Facilitator Year 1 – 44 in London, 12 in Windsor (Formerly PPCM)
Inquires: justin.quesnelle@schulich.uwo.ca

A faculty member who works alone or with a partner with a small group of students to develop their clinical skills in history taking and physical examination over either the fall or winter semester. 

  • Duration: 16-18 weeks per semester 

 

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions for Undergraduate Education, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! Dr. Scott McKay, Undergraduate Education Director – smckay28@uwo.ca.