Undergraduate Program and Clerkship Objectives

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This is our list of publicly accessible program and clerkship objectives.  You can find more details if you log into medportal and visit the specific clerkship pages.

Undergraduate Program Objectives

DomainMcMaster Program Competency
1. Patient Care

1. Provide patient-centred care that is compassionate and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health.

1.1. Gather essential and accurate information about patients and their health through history-taking, physical examination, and the use of laboratory data, imaging, and other tests.

1.2. Organize and prioritize responsibilities to provide care that is safe, effective, and efficient.

1.3. Interpret laboratory data, imaging studies, and other tests required for the area of practice.

1.4. Make informed decision about diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on patient information and preferences, up-to-date scientific evidence, and clinical judgment.

1.5. Develop and carry out patient management plans.

1.6. Perform or assist with medical, diagnostic, and surgical procedures considered essential for the area of practice.

1.7. Counsel and educate patients and their families to empower them to participate in their care and enable shared decision-making.

1.8. Provide appropriate referral of patients including ensuring continuity of care throughout transitions between providers or settings, and following up on patient progress and outcomes.

1.9. Provide health care services to patients, families, and communities aimed at preventing health problems or maintaining health.

2. Knowledge for Practice

2. Demonstrate knowledge of biomedical, clinical, epidemiological and socio-behavioural sciences, and apply this knowledge to patient care.

2.1. Demonstrate an understanding of what knowledge is, the strengths and limitations of different ways of knowing, and how knowledge is created in historical, cultural and social contexts.

2.2. Apply biomedical scientific principles fundamental to health care for patients and populations.

2.3. Apply principles of clinical sciences to diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making, clinical problem-solving, and other aspects of evidence-based healthcare.

2.4. Apply principles of epidemiological sciences to the identification of health problems, risk factors, treatment strategies, resource allocation, and disease prevention/health promotion efforts for patients and populations.

2.5. Apply principles of socio-behavioural sciences to the provision of patient care, including assessment of the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on health, disease, care-seeking, care concordance, care adherence and barriers to and attitudes toward care.

2.6. Understand the process of the dissemination, application, and translation of new health knowledges and practices.

3. Practiced-Based Learning and Improvement

3. Demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate one's care of patients, to appraise and assimilate research evidence, and to continuously improve patient care based on reflexivity and principles of life-long learning.

3.1. Solicit and respond to feedback from peers, teachers, supervisors, patients, families, and members of health care teams regarding one’s knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional behaviours.

3.2. Integrate feedback, external measures of performance and reflective practices to identify strengths, deficiencies, and limits in one’s knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional behaviours.

3.3. Set learning and improvement goals.

3.4. Identify and perform learning activities that address one’s gaps in knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes.

3.5. Understand principles of continuous quality improvement and how to incorporate them into practice improvement.

3.6. Locate, appraise, and incorporate evidence from research related to patients’ health problems and the provision of healthcare.

3.7. Use information technology and information systems to optimize patient care

3.8. Obtain and use information about individual patients and their caregivers, populations of patients, or communities with which patients identify to improve care.

3.9. Continually identify, analyze, and implement new knowledge, guidelines, standards, technologies, products, or services that have been demonstrated to improve outcomes.

4. Interpersonal and Communication Skills

4. Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals.

4.1. Communicate effectively with patients, families, and the public, as appropriate, across a broad range of socioeconomic and sociocultural backgrounds.

4.2. Participate in the education of patients, families, students, trainees, peers and other health professionals.

4.3. Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, and compassion in difficult conversations, including those about death, end of life, adverse events, bad news, disclosure of errors, and other sensitive topics.

4.4. Demonstrate insight and understanding about emotions and human responses to emotions that allow one to develop and manage interpersonal interactions, including the ability to manage one’s own interpersonal responses.

4.5. Maintain comprehensive, timely, and legible medical records.

5. Professionalism

5. Demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles consistent with expectations of society, the profession, and law in all professional settings, including clinical, academic, administrative, and personal activities relating to professional practice.

5.1. Demonstrate accountability to patients, society, and the profession.

5.2. Demonstrate compassion, integrity, and respect for others.

5.3. Demonstrate altruism, appropriately balancing patient needs and self-interest/self-care.

5.4. Demonstrate respect for patient confidentiality, privacy and autonomy.

5.5. Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to a diverse patient population, including all dimensions of diversity such as those that are included in human rights legislation and federal and provincial law.

5.6. Demonstrate a critical understanding of personal, professional and institutional power and privilege and utilize anti-oppressive practice to create patient experiences where marginalization and oppression are minimized.

5.7. Demonstrate the application of ethical principles to commonly encountered ethical issues such as the provision or withholding of care, confidentiality, informed consent, and including compliance with relevant laws, policies, and regulations.

5.8. Balance personal values and beliefs with professional and societal ethics.

5.9. Maintain appropriate boundaries with patients and other professionals.

5.10. Manage conflicts of interest and dual relationships.

5.11. Demonstrate trustworthiness and reliability that makes colleagues feel secure when one is responsible for the care of patients.

5.12. Present oneself professionally to patients, families, and members of the health care team.

6. System-Based Practice6. Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on resources in the system to provide optimal health care.

6.1. Understand the systems of healthcare, including federal, provincial, municipal and local, and the influences they have on the health of individuals and populations.

6.2. Identify aspects of the healthcare system that serve as barriers and enablers of providing healthcare to and optimizing the health of patients and the population.

6.3. Advocate for quality patient care and optimal patient care systems that support patient- and population-centred care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable.

6.4. Apply concepts of global health and social medicine to the health of individual patients and populations using the ecology, economy, equity framework.

6.5. Work effectively in various health care delivery settings and systems relevant to a variety of clinical specialties.

6.6. Coordinate patient care within the health care system relevant to a variety of clinical specialties.

6.7. Incorporate cost, risk-benefit analysis and resource stewardship in patient and/or population-based care.

6.8. Participate in identifying system-level gaps and errors and, where appropriate, identify, implement or participate in potential system-level solutions.

6.9. Perform administrative and practice management responsibilities commensurate with one’s role, abilities, and qualifications.
7. Collaboration7. Demonstrate the ability to engage in inter- and intra-professional teams in a manner that optimizes safe, effective patient- and population-centred care.

7.1. Work with other health professionals to establish and maintain a climate of mutual respect, dignity, inclusion, ethical integrity, and trust.

7.2. Use the knowledge of one’s own role and the roles of other health professionals to appropriately assess and address the health care needs of the patients and populations served.

7.3. Communicate with other health professionals in a responsive and responsible manner that supports the maintenance of health and the provision of healthcare in individual patients and populations.

7.4. Demonstrate the ability to consult with and to other health professionals.

7.5. Work with physicians and other colleagues in the health care professions to promote understanding, manage differences, and resolve conflicts.

7.6. Participate in different team roles and appropriately apply leadership skills to establish, develop, and continuously enhance team function.
8. Personal and Professional Development

8. Demonstrate the qualities required to sustain lifelong personal and professional growth.

8.1. Demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms to respond to stress.

8.2. Practice flexibility and maturity in adjusting to change with the capacity to alter one’s behaviour.

8.3. Develop the ability to use self-awareness of knowledge, skills, and emotional limitation to seek help appropriately.

8.4. Demonstrate awareness and acceptance of different points of view.

8.5. Recognize that ambiguity is part of clinical health care and respond by utilizing appropriate resources in dealing with uncertainty.

Anesthesia

General Rotation Objectives

  1. To acquire an appreciation of the multifaceted discipline of Anesthesia
  2. To acquire an understanding of the clinical application of physiology and pharmacology to patients of all ages
  3. To acquire the basic practical skills of airway and circulatory management

Emergency Medicine

Family Medicine

    The cornerstone of the family medicine experience is the close relationship that learners develop with their preceptors when working together in the delivery of care to patients in the preceptor’s office, but also in other contexts such as long-term care, palliative care, and hospital settings.

     Overall End of Rotation Objectives

    The following objectives are meant to replace the previous program objectives, which were the full CanMEDS FMU objectives document.  While the CanMEDS-FMU objectives encompass values and attitudes important in family medicine, they do not lend themselves to the measurement of whether or not learners have attained them.  The objectives outlined in the following adaption are meant to be attainable, demonstrable and measureable within the four-week time frame of the Family Medicine clerkship.

     

    Internal Medicine

    The Internal Medicine clerkship objectives are a framework of basic competencies which are appropriate for mastery by clinical clerks during their rotation, and which include the content knowledge objectives.  A description of the objectives is below and also appears in detail the  Internal Medicine Clerkship Manual which is distributed to each clerk at the beginning of their Internal Medicine core rotation.

    Internal Medicine Clerkship Objectives

    IM Objectives TtR_final

    Obstetrics and Gynecology

    Orthopedic Surgery

    Knowledge Objectives

    The learner should be able to perform an adequate history & physical examination, interpret relevant diagnostic tests, and develop a reasonable management plan for the following:

    • Fractures and dislocations, including multiple trauma and non-accidental trauma
    • Soft tissue injuries such as tendon and ligament
      • Especially common upper extremity injuries such as rotator cuff disease, shoulder instability
      • Especially common lower extremity injuries such as femoral acetabular impingement, anterior cruciate ligament injuries, meniscal tears, ankle sprains
    • Common developmental abnormalities in children
    • Painful and/or swollen joints
    • Musculoskeletal tumors
    • Neck and back pathology
      • Especially mechanical back pain, disc herniation,
    • Limb deformity

    The learner should be able to recognize the importance of emergent care for the following orthopedic emergencies:

    • Compartment Syndrome
    • Compound fracture
    • Post-traumatic ischemic limb
    • Cauda equina syndrome

    Skills Objectives

    The learner should be able to acquire the following skills:

    • Imaging interpretation of common musculoskeletal fractures and pathologies
    • Musculoskeletal history
    • Musculoskeletal examination of the limbs and spine
      • Including a detailed neurovascular examination of the arm and leg
    • Application of a cast or splint
    • Care for pre- and post-op patients on the ward
    • Principles and techniques of joint aspiration/injection
    • Principles and techniques of antisepsis in the operating room
    • Post-op orders
    In addition, the student must:
    • Attend Orthopaedic Clinic (Fracture Clinic, Specialty Clinic, or surgeon's office).
    • Be observed performing a physical examination.
    • Record in an acceptable fashion a history and physical examination with formulation of diagnosis and treatment plan, and present this to the health care team.
    • Attend surgery for:
      1. Joint replacement or deformity correction.
      2. Fracture/dislocation care.
      3. Write admission and post-op orders.
      4. Perform "on call" duties with the resident supervisor one week day and one weekend day per rotation.

    Behaviour

    • Communicate in an appropriate fashion to:
      1. Colleagues and other members of the health care team
      2. Patients and families.
    • Demonstrate respect and appreciate the roles of other professionals.
    • Be aware of the necessity for competent and appropriate medical resource management.
    • Manage time effectively.
    • Develop an attitude of curiosity and enthusiasm for lifelong learning.
    • Advocate for and act to optimize patient care.
    • Behave as a professional at all times with honesty, integrity, commitment, compassion, effectiveness, competency, and altruism.

    Psychiatry

    Surgery

    Clerkships