Undergraduate Report
What are the medical students up to?
Meds 2027: White Coat Ceremony August 29 followed by Orientation to the MD Program. Just beginning the deep dive into their four courses this semester: Foundations of Medicine, Clinical Skills I, Experiential Learning (Service Learning, Research) and Professionalism Career & Wellness. LCE Matches have been sent out. We thank all faculty who have signed up to help.
Meds 2026: Ramping up for Principles of Medicine II, Clinical Skills II, Experiential Learning (QI and Research projects) and Professionalism, Career & Wellness (PCW).
Meds 2025: Completed Orientation under the new Clerkship directors, Drs. Joanne Grimmer (L) and Hema Gangnam (W) and part way through their second rotation. The rotation and academic directors will be working with the Clerkship & Electives and Clinical Skills Learning Program teams to transition the Summative OSCE into Clerkship this year. Professionalism, Career & Wellness continues throughout the year, providing opportunities for reflection and discussion on clinical experiences to date.
Meds 2024: First class in three years to have the opportunity to complete away electives which many are taking advantage of. The 16 weeks of Clinical Electives is completed by the December holidays – followed by Transition to MD and the remaining sessions of PCW in January. In the meantime, let’s be honest – student focus is largely on the match. Students are sending drafts of their CVs and personal statements for feedback to assigned CaRMS mentors prior to submitting their polished versions. CaRMS 2024 Main R1 residency match deadlines are looming. If you have been asked to provide a reference letter, please do so as soon as possible.
Faculty Evaluations: Feedback for faculty and courses can be an important source of information for quality improvement. The MD Program Course and Faculty evaluation response rates have been so low for the last several years that conclusions cannot safely be drawn. This is not unique to UME and the 2022-2023 academic year was no exception. The UME Office in consultations with student groups have identified a way forward, that aligns with the practices of Western University. Any faculty member seeking student evaluations of their teaching (small group, large group, clinical learning, project-based learning, etc.) will be required to set aside time during their teaching. It is suggested that faculty set aside 5-10 minutes during the scheduled time, inform the students in advance and step out of the room to allow students time to complete. Each September, the UME Office makes available the prior year’s evaluations for faculty and sends a summary report to the department chairs. We are hopeful that placing the control of this in the faculty members’ hands will increase response rates.
