EXPLORATORY EXPERIENCE: A NEW CONCEPT IN CURRICULUM DESIGN

Ellen Wagner*, Suzanne Hricko, Richard Currie, Ph.D., Pat McCarter, Lisa Morris, LuAnn Stockton, Marilda Ward,Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rootstown, OH  44272, U.S.A.

Purpose: The Exploratory Experience is a four-week course required of third-year medical students at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM). The goal of the course is to provide an opportunity for students to experience aspects of medicine not covered during the usual clerkship training and to supplement other career exploration experiences.

Method: Students must select two of five medically-related categories, completing 80 hours of contact per category: research, community service, community health, medical specialty, and professionalism/inquiry.  The course can also be used to remediate individual students for academic or professionalism deficiencies.

Course objectives for students include: attend all planned activities; complete all assignments; communicate and interact effectively with all faculty and staff; behave in a professional manner, including appropriate dress and deportment; and, upon completion of each experience, submit a reflective essay on the value of the experience as a future physician.

The course has several evaluation components. Faculty preceptors evaluate each student for each course objective. Students and faculty/preceptors evaluate the experience.  Information about the category selections made by students is also collected.

Results: Evaluation results for all students in the Class of 2007 and the Class of 2008 for all modes of evaluation will be available at the time of the presentation.

Conclusions/Future Directions: The course has helped medical students establish an initial identify as a physician, appreciate competent and compassionate medical care for individuals and communities, uphold the virtues of professionalism, adopt a public health perspective on medical care, and embody an ethic of service to society and the medical profession.