Curriculum Description

Years 1 and 2

The Clinical Medicine Course (CMC) teaches clinical skills through community-based clinical practice sites, small group seminars at the Health Center and community experiences. Students work with a community physician one afternoon a week. Since they will work in this practice throughout their training, students learn about local communities and their resources as well as patient care.

During the First Year
Students learn about the communities served by their practice and about agencies providing services in the area. Each student then works on a health promotion activity with a community program.

During the Second Year
Students learn about home health assessment visits, home care programs and other resources for people with chronic illness. Students are encouraged to use these skills to make a “house call” with a patient in their practice community. Community agencies and medical students working together model a collaborative relationship that can be applied throughout the students’ careers as physicians.

Year 3

The Multidisciplinary Ambulatory Experience (MAX) consists of eight months of outpatient experience in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Surgery and Psychiatry.

Family Medicine
Students work with community physicians throughout Connecticut and visit Hospice programs or other agencies providing direct patient services in those communities.

Pediatrics
Students accompany staff from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families to learn about assessment, intervention and support services. Many students create additional experiences with community programs related to their MAX project or other areas of interest.

Project
Students select a topic area and prepare a 20-minute presentation. Topics usually involve clinical problems or prevention. Students examine the topic from a population and community perspective and by researching the biological and clinical aspects. Projects are available to community programs.

Year 4

The Selective is a two-month intensive experience providing an opportunity to integrate learning from the first three years in the implementation of an independent project. Students complete a project in health intervention, education or research. Each of the selective options can be community focused; students work with a community preceptor as well as a university preceptor. Selective projects expand opportunities for community agencies to work with medical students and faculty to improve the health of people in their communities. Each year, an average of 20% of medical students conduct community research for their selective.

Years 1 to 4

The 15-hour Community Service requirement can be completed at any time. Students may choose to work with an agency in their practice community or with one of the many ongoing service projects in the Greater Hartford area. The student operated community service projects include health education and mentoring in Hartford schools, free clinics serving pregnant, homeless, migrant, and adolescent populations, and a health education program with the American School for the Deaf.

Community Participation

Community representatives provide educational experiences for students and are partners in the evaluation of student performance and program objectives. Community representatives participate on the Community Curriculum Planning Committee to provide advice and guidance for all educational experiences in the Community Based Education Program. This committee, composed of students, faculty and community members, reflects a long standing community-university collaboration. The time and expertise provided by community agency staff are major contributions to the goal of excellence in medical education at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. The University recognizes these contributions through annual receptions, certificates of appreciation and faculty appointments.