Thanks to your suggestions and comments on evaluations, numerous improvements to individual courses have been made.
See the current course syllabi to track the evolution of each course and clerkship.
The following are just a few of the school-wide changes made as a result of feedback provided by students.
You said… | We Listened… | ||||
Who | When | What | When | What | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ISA | Feb. 2018 | Students requested improved access to psychiatric services | Jan. 2019 | Made available 8 h/wk, access to two UBMD psychiatrists (who do not evaluate students), free of charge to all medical students | Student wellness is important to us. The costs of psychiatric care can be prohibitive. To ensure quick and easy access, without the hassle of insurance, we have reserved this time for our students. |
ISA | Feb. 2018 | Students shared their difficulties in accessing proper financial aid counseling with a part-time advisor located on North Campus. | Jan. 2019 | Hired Jennifer Rice as our full-time, on-site Financial Aid Advisor dedicated to medical students. | A full-time, dedicated staff member on the medical campus should alleviate the issues and student satisfaction will be monitored. |
Focus Group | Feb. 2019 | URM student specific orientation for Phase 2 requested. | June 2019 | Rising M3 URM students dinner/Q&A session with URM residents and rising M4 students | To facilitate connections, establish a support system, and impart wisdom to new M3s before they begin clinical rotations |
| M3s | Jan. 2024 | Feedback on Intersession | Jan. 2024 | We incorporated student feedback to plan for intersession including adding individual career advising sessions with the deans, moving sessions to make them more convenient, moving days off to allow for holiday travel, adding sessions to enhance tools for clinical care. | M3 Intersession is an important time to cover high yield topics now that they have had several months of clinical care. It's an important time to address wellness, next steps in their career, and reinforce important topics useful for any clerkship. |
| M3s | Jan. 2025 | Feedback on Intersession | Jan. 2025 | Remove session on burnout and ethics, was not helpful for students at this stage, make modifications to existing sessions, consider where this content will be built into the Well Beyond Curriculum | M3 Intersession is an important time to cover high yield topics, we want them to be useful and as we approach curricular changes, we want to identify where sessions will have the biggest impact. |
| M1s | Fall 2024 | Feedback on Brightspace organization | Fall 2024 | Standardization of course/Brightspace pages for clarity and consistency across Phase 1 | Ensures students can easily navigate materials and expectations, reducing cognitive load and increasing efficiency in learning. |
| M1-M2 | Spring 2024 | Feedback from student surveys and development of Well Beyond Curriculum | Fall 2024 | Further development and enumeration of attendance policies/exam attendance policies for clarity | Provides clear expectations and reduces ambiguity, leading to fairer enforcement and improved accountability. |
| M1-M2 | Course evaluations | Ongoing | Specific changes to courses made based on student feedback ("You asked, we listened," "Changes made since the last time this course was offered") | Demonstrates responsiveness to student concerns, fostering engagement and trust while directly addressing curricular gaps. | |
| All | Spring 2024 | Feedback from Polity and Curriculum representatives | April 2024 | Holding regular Curriculum Office meetings with Polity to discuss student concerns | Creates a structured feedback loop, allowing for timely identification and resolution of issues that impact student learning and well-being. |
| Ongoing | Course reviews based on student feedback for improvement | Ensures iterative curriculum refinement, aligning content and delivery with student needs and educational best practices. | |||
| M1s | Fall 2024 | Feedback from midsemester survey and M1 polity representatives | Fall 2024 | Streamlining of CBIL session scheduling in the WellBeyond Curriculum | Reduces scheduling conflicts and cognitive overload, allowing students to focus more on learning rather than logistical concerns. |
| June 2024 | Expansion of clinical reasoning session (Sketchy into MS3 Orientation, with plans for further incorporation). | Strengthens diagnostic reasoning skills early, promoting better integration of knowledge into clinical practice | |||
| M3s | 23-24 AY | Feedback on Clerkship Grading | June 2024, ongoing | Changes to grading across clerkships (Honors, etc.) in order to improve equity; continued standardization and transparency efforts | Reduces grading variability and implicit bias, ensuring fairness in assessment and residency competitiveness. |
| M3s | 23-24 AY | More shelf preparation for Med/Sur clerkship students for shortened clerkships | July2024 | Shelf preparation programming/resources (practice NBMEs, resources, curricular reviews, etc). | Enhances student preparedness and performance on national standardized exams. |
| All | 23-24 AY | ASQ Survey | Ongoing | Faculty development on enhancing the learning environment, providing feedback, evaluation, etc. (Initiatives ongoing via MEERI) | Improves instructional quality and the effectiveness of feedback, directly impacting student learning and professional growth. |
| M3-M4s | 23-24 AY | ASQ Survey | Ongoing | Expansion of elective opportunities and elective revisions to meet student needs | Expanding electives directly supports students in making well-informed career decisions by offering exposure to various specialties early in their training. This helps them identify fields that align with their skills, interests, and long-term goals. |
| M1-M2s | 23-24 AY | Student feedback and course results | Ongoing | Processes and programming for working successfully with learners with deficits. | Supports academic success for struggling students, promoting inclusivity and reducing attrition. |
| M3s | 23-24 AY | Student feedback in Phase 2 subcommittee and Phase 2 review | Fall 2024, ongoing | Revision of assessment modalities used in the clerkships | Ensures assessments accurately measure competency and align with real-world clinical skills, improving validity and fairness. |
| All | ASQ & GQ Surveys | Jan. 2025 | Financial Wellness Curriculum | Equips medical students with essential budgeting, debt management, and financial planning skills, reducing stress and promoting long-term financial stability. | |