Dal Curriculum FAQ

[Guest CaesarCornelius]

** I took this from another FAQ I wrote, that is why it starts at #15!**

 

 

COPS Curriculum Questions

14)        What does COPS stand for?

a.        Case Oriented, Problem Stimulated.

15)        Right, that didn’t help, what the heck is COPS?

a.        This is a type of curriculum where the lectures are de-emphasized and small-group learning facilitates self directed learning. Very wordy I know. I will try to explain. Dalhousie recognizes that lectures are important, but they aren’t the ultimate way to learn information. They also recognize that complete self-directed learning can be troublesome (ie: going way off topic, missing important information). So the COPS curriculum was developed as a mid ground between those two extremes. We have 4-6 lectures a week, depending on the unit and we have 6 hours of small group (8 people) study where we get a clinical case related to the week’s topic. The case will be given out by a tutor (a scientist/physician who may or may not have background in the area) who then moderates the group and ensures that the group stays on topic. Learning issues are formulated from the information presented in the case (ie: Sally has edema, what is edema and what can cause it?) and the students return the next tutorial with the answers. The answers are discussed and more information from the case is presented and more issues are formed, you get the idea? Some units have labs, others have clinically relevant sessions (hard to describe) which will facilitate learning. But wait, you ask, how will you know if you are going way off track or are learning what you are supposed to be learning? At the end of the weeks’ case you will get a list of objectives, these objectives have everything you need to know listed out in point form (ie: Be able to describe the filtration of the blood in the kidney at the molecular level).

16)        What are the units that we cover in first year?

a.        Main Units (in order)

i.        Human Anatomy (8Weeks): Pretty self explanatory. Each week is a different area. Dr.Mobbs and Dr.Sinha are excellent teachers!

ii.        Metabolism and Function (10 weeks): You will cover biochemistry, cardiovascular physiology, renal physiology, digestion and a bunch of other topics. This is the longest unit with lots of information to cover.

iii.        Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology (8 Weeks): The name of the unit describes the sub-units. Lots of books, but you don’t necessarily need them all, consult your buddy!

iv.        Pharmacology (5 weeks): A short unit that covers the very basics of pharmacology. Quite a change from the previous unit lengths! There is a short group presentation (think euphoria!) during this unit worth 10%.

v.        Genetics, Embryology and Reproduction (5 Weeks): A great way to end the year, not as heavy as the previous units but it is full of ethics, and you get Dr.Mobbs again! Each Wednesday a family who has been affected by a certain genetic disorder comes to talk for 1 hour and you get to ask questions! Very informative.

b.        Short Unit/Year Long Unit

i.        Clinical Epidemiology and Critical Thinking (Clin Epi): This unit runs all year long. It is still under construction, but its purpose is to get us to read and evaluate medical literature. Each week a question is posed (“Can nuchal translucency predict downs syndrome?”) and a paper is handed out to read. After a short lecture (30mins) we break into small groups where the paper is discussed. There is no exam for this course, but there is a paper. You basically are given a clinical scenario (Should I give this drug vs this drug; do I perform a skin-sparing mastectomy or a radical mastectomy?; do kids explain their headaches better through drawing?) and you are asked to find and evaluate 2-3 papers. This is your first exposure to evidence based medicine.

ii.        Patient Doctor (All Year): This unit has a large number of sub units.

1.        Communication skills: At the Learning Resource centre (LRC) they will teach you basics of communing with a patient, bring in simulated patients (actors, who are very good BTW!) and you have to interview them. The LRC is set up like a clinic so you feel like it’s the real deal! Some of the sessions are video taped and then you meet with a group to watch them and evaluate each other (everyone does it, so it’s not that embarrassing).

2.        Baby Project: In late September you and a partner will be assigned a new born baby. Your mission: follow the baby throughout the year, chart its growth, run it through the Denver assessment and ask the mother and father all kinds of baby related questions. It’s a fantastic experience, babies are so cute! You need to write a report in the end, but from all the info you collect it isn’t difficult at all! (Hint: Take pictures, it really adds to the paper and you get to see the baby change.)

3 .        Adolescents: Two sessions on sex, drugs, puberty, sex, and all those things teenagers do.

4.        Middle Age: One session on attitudes, and changes that occur in middle aged people.

5.        Seniors: You and a partner visit a senior in their home.

6.        ENT: A four hour session where you learn about ENT and then get to put things up each other’s noses. (Note: Tugging on nostril hair really REALLY hurts.)

7.        Ophthalmology: A 3 hour session on how to use those ophthalmoscopes you bought at the beginning of the year and didn’t use. For some of you this will be the day right before the pharmacology exam, don’t panic.

8.        Clinical Methods: Probably the part you are all hoping for. Starting in January, you will rotate through Cardiology, Respirology, Gastrointestinal, Musculoskeletal units. You spend 3-4 hours every Tuesday morning interviewing patients (real this time) and performing physical exams for the various areas. This is the real deal.

9.        Psychiatry: Three sessions at some point during the year where you either go the NS hospital in Dartmouth, or the abby lane in Halifax, and get to interview psych patients. A very unique and eye-opening experience.

17)        How are we evaluated?

a.        For all of the major units the evaluation is the final exam worth 100% (except for pharm where it is worth 90%). The minor units have papers (Clin Epi, Baby Project, Elective), or the evaluations are merely based on whether you turn up or not.

18)        What is the elective all about?

a.        The elective is a 4 hour slot on Wednesday afternoons where you get to find a preceptor (medical-ese for supervisor) in an area that interests you, and shadow them for the year. The door is wide open here. You can do basically anything as long as someone agrees to supervise you. There are 15 different ways to fulfill the evaluation for this unit. We are trying to put together an electives booklet (something we would have like to have last sept when picking electives) of all of the electives we did and what we thought about them.

Clinical Exposure

19)        Do we get any clinical exposure in first year?

a.        Yes! If you read through the descriptions of the units described in this FAQ you will see that you get a lot of exposure. You will have simulated exposure with the simulated patients, real life exposure in clinical methods (cardio, resp, GI, and MSK) and there is of course your elective (if you choose something clinical that is).