The Process of Curriculum Reform
Prospective Students Ask Questions
Q: I want to attend a school where the emphasis is on the future and innovation, but everyone tells me not to be a “guinea pig.” Why should I take the risk and attend a school in the midst of curriculum reform?
A: The challenges facing The Pritzker School of Medicine are not unique – all schools will be forced to make changes in their curriculum to encompass the shifting paradigms of health care and biomedical science or run the risk of providing an educational experience that will not prepare students to meet the challenges of 21st century medicine. As you consider where you will pursue your medical education, you should strongly weigh how the schools to which you are applying are facing this universal challenge. Does the school have “the ability to ‘think outside the box’? The flexibility to act quickly? The courage to act decisively?”* Most importantly, you should consider that our leaders and faculty have the wisdom to know what not to change – the timeless core mission and values of our school which have produced generations of self-directed, lifelong learners, outstanding clinicians, and leaders in academic medicine. We are not seeking “guinea pigs” in our new classes of students, but students who will be undaunted by innovation and will embrace the opportunity to be key players and contributors in upholding the University of Chicago’s place as a leader in medical education and innovation.
* Kenneth Ludmerer’s seminal work, Time to Heal.
Q: Pritzker attracts me because of its flexibility and interdisciplinary opportunities. Will these still be available during the transition to a new curriculum?
A: The greatest strength of our institution is its capacity for interdisciplinary opportunity in research, education, and clinical care. Our location on the main campus of the University of Chicago supports this as does our administrative structure within the Biological Sciences Division and the University as a whole. Far from seeking to eliminate those opportunities, we seek to expand them. Therefore, as we wish our students to avail themselves of these opportunities in increasing numbers, we are committed to providing the flexibility that makes such experiences possible. Our small size is an important strength since it ensures that we have the flexibility to see each student both as an individual as well as an integral part of a medical school class.
Q: I need to decide if I want a traditional or non-traditional curriculum. How will I know what the new curriculum will be?
A: As we have always done, we will draw upon the best practices in medical education today and utilize the strengths of all models in implementing the new curriculum. Certainly the thorough grounding in basic sciences is an important strength of our program, as is the active student directed-learning in which are students engage. The Pritzker Initiative will consider what elements are important for 21 st century medicine and what forms of educational practices will be most successful in conveying these to students. The most important tradition to consider in selecting a medical school is a longstanding tradition of commitment to excellence as demonstrated by the outstanding success achieved by our graduates.
Q: Why are you engaging in curriculum reform? Are students not passing the boards? Is the match success in trouble?
A: Our students pass the USMLE examinations with scores well above national averages. Pritzker students match into the very best residency programs in the country, and we know from our surveys of residency program directors that our students perform at an excellent to outstanding level compared to their peers and go on to be the leaders of their program and, ultimately, the leaders in academic medicine. Our students’ outstanding success in these two regards certainly demonstrates the quality of the educational experience provided by Pritzker.
So why curriculum reform and why now? The answer is that we take seriously Flexner’s challenge – “f or medical education to flourish from one generation to the next, it has to reconfigure itself in response to changing scientific, social, and economic circumstances.” In fact, this is hardly a new activity for us and our last such effort was only ten years ago. At regular intervals throughout the history of the school, we have conducted intensive curricular reviews and reforms. It is important to note that throughout our last curriculum reform and revision, our students not only achieved the same outstanding success as their predecessors; they excelled beyond our already high expectations. That achievement might well be due to their deeper understanding of the educational process and their level of commitment to the school and to their classmates, present and future.
The pace of discovery in biomedical sciences is such that only a school like our own which commits the extensive resources that we do to innovation in medical education can hope to continue to see its students achieve at the level at which Pritzker students regularly perform.
