Beginning in the Fall of 1998, the Indiana University School of Medicine launched a new curriculum that incorporated the evaluation and assessment of general medical competencies throughout all four years of the medical school curriculum.  Modeled after the curriculum at Brown University, students must demonstrate proficiency in nine areas, or competencies, prior to graduation.  These areas include communication, clinical skills, basic science knowledge, lifelong learning, problem solving, ethics, social and community context of medicine, self-awareness and self-care, and professionalism.  The importance of these competencies to the well-trained physician was underscored by new requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for outcomes assessment of competencies in graduate medical training.  It is generally anticipated that similar requirements will eventually be incorporated into the accreditation review of undergraduate medical education programs.  While it is clear how these competencies might apply to the clinical practice of medicine, many basic science educators have serious questions on their applicability to the basic science components of the curriculum.  Is the evaluation of competencies such as professionalism and ethical thinking desirable or even possible in basic science courses?

In this one-hour IAMSE Audio Seminar, Dr. Kreisle will share the experience of the last fours years as the faculty has struggled with the issue of incorporating general medical competencies into the basic medical sciences at Indiana University.  Definitions of general medical competencies, their applicability to undergraduate medical education, and issues of competency evaluation will be discussed.  She will offer both practical suggestions and challenging perspectives as she relates the successes and failures of the competency-based curriculum at Indiana University School of Medicine.