Welcome to the Genes to Society Curriculum Website
For more information about the Genes to Society Curriculum please contact the Associate Dean for Curriculum, Dr. Patricia Thomas at pathomas@jhmi.edu or 410-502-6105.
In 2003, Edward Miller, M.D., dean/CEO, charged David Nichols, M.D., M.B.A., vice dean for education, to review the undergraduate medical curriculum of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) to ensure JHUSOM graduates continue to become leaders in research, clinical care, and education. Dr. Nichols asked Charles Wiener, M.D. and Gerald Hart, Ph.D. to chair what has come to be known as the Curriculum Reform Committee (CRC). After careful deliberation, the CRC decided the timing was right for a curricular reform. Some of the considerations that led to this decision were:
- The need for coordinated avenues to incorporate the explosion of biomedical knowledge, new technologies, and emerging multidisciplinary topics into the curriculum.
- A move from a partitioned medical curriculum to one that integrates basic, clinical, and social science throughout all four years and allows students to revisit topics in light of their increasing knowledge base.
- The changing view of medicine framed around individual variability rather than the distinct separation between “normal” and “abnormal.”
- Societal concerns with health disparities, outcomes, and safety.
- Student need for earlier exposure to patients, longitudinal ambulatory experiences, and structured avenues to explore areas of interest.
- The need for a curriculum management system to centralize accountability, oversight, financial support, and faculty development.
In Phase I of the reform process, CRC members articulated the direction for the new curriculum and produced a curriculum schematic. Phase II involved over 150 JHUSOM faculty members from both the basic and clinical sciences, administration, and students. 12 discipline-based committees were formed: Cardiovascular, Endocrine, GI/Liver, Hematology/Oncology, Horizontal Strands, Infectious Disease/Immunology, Mind/Brain/Behavior, Renal/Genitourinary, Reproductive Science, Respiratory, and Scientific Foundations of Medicine. Each committee was charged to identify content and content placement within the proposed schematic. The deliverable was a content spreadsheet organized by course from each committee.
After the 2005 Curriculum Reform Retreat, faculty re-grouped into course-based committees. These committees were charged with creating objectives and draft schedules for each course, which were presented at the 2006 Curriculum Development Retreat.
In the fall of 2006, faculty began in earnest the implementation phase of the new curriculum, which meant the charge to the CRC had been accomplished. Transition planning, governance, and implementation of the curriculum will be overseen by the GTS Integration Committee, chaired by the associate dean for curriculum, Patricia Thomas, M.D.
Learning the Science of Medicine
In the first three months of medical school, Scientific Foundations of Medicine will emphasize principles fundamental to the science presented over the next four years. This will include basic sciences, social sciences, public health, and information skills.
Genes to Society will follow Foundations and run through the end of Year II. This course will be divided into disciplines and will combine the traditional “normal” and “abnormal.” Each discipline will be taught on the same framework: genes, proteins, cells, tissues, organs, systems, individuals, communities, environments, and societies. This framework allows basic science to be taught using evidence-based medicine and a public health perspective.
Translational Intersessions in the clinical years will provide the opportunity for students to revisit basic science topics applicable to the clinical clerkships they have just completed. Clerkship directors will collaborate with basic science faculty to develop a series of seminars linked to core clerkships, which model modern scientific inquiry of bench to bedside medicine.
Developing Clinical Skills
Students will begin their patient-centered education immediately by learning clinical skills including interviewing, communication, and physical diagnosis in the course Clinical Skills.
Concurrent with the start of Genes to Society in January of Year I, students will begin a Longitudinal Ambulatory Clerkship. Students will spend one afternoon each week in an outpatient setting with a dedicated preceptor. This course will also include didactic or web-based learning of common outpatient topics.
Directly prior to entering their clinical clerkships, students will have the six-week course Transition to the Wards. Transitions will include integrative problem-based learning modules to consolidate and reinforce lessons of the first two years, as well as introduce specific content in preparation for the clerkships. This content will include ECGs, radiographs, clinical pathology, safety, pharmacy, information systems, and community resources.
Translational Intersessions will also will also be given six times during Genes to Society. Unlike the Intersessions in the clinical years, the Intersessions in Years I and II will provide week-long opportunities for students to break away from the organ-based classwork and focus on advanced clinical skills, simulation experiences, and areas of interest.
The Clinical Years
Basic Clinical Clerkships will begin in the spring of Year II. Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics/Gynecology clerkships will be seven weeks long, preceded by a one-week integrated clerkship and followed by a one-week basic science intersession. Neurology, Psychology, and Emergency Medicine will be four-week clerkships. The benefits of this model are that it will provide a more structured cadence and allow students exposure to all core clerkships before Year IV, while maintaining student flexibility and choice.
In addition to the core clerkships, there will be a series of required Advanced Clerkships required for graduation. These will include a subinternship in Medicine, Surgery or Pediatrics, a chronic care clerkship (e.g., palliative care, rehabilitation, geriatrics), and a critical care clerkship with a technology/safety module. In addition, students will have ample opportunities in Years III and IV to take electives of their choosing (e.g., Radiology, Urology, Orthopaedics, etc.).
Professional Development
Patient, Physician and Society is a course that will span all four years. The course will cover behavioral and social science domains. Domains will include professionalism, mind-body interactions in health and disease, patient behavior, physician role and behavior, physician-patient interactions, social and cultural issues in health care, and health policy and economics.
Areas of Interest will allow students to pursue in greater depth broad topics already covered in less depth in the curriculum Dedicated faculty will follow students in their chosen fields through the first two years. Areas of Interest will be designed to integrate with summer activities and provide defined opportunities for students to pursue advanced degrees from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Graduate School. Possible topics for Areas of Interest are basic translational investigation, clinical translational investigation, health policy, public health, and medical humanities.
Transition to Residency and Preparation for Life (TRIPLe) will be the final course experience prior to graduation. The goal of TRIPLE is to provide students preparation for their first night on call as interns, as well as tools to balance their lives outside of medicine. Practical topics in preparation for residency will include Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), procedure simulations, teamwork skills, advanced communication skills (e.g., informed consent, breaking bad news, admitting mistakes, and personal safety), and patient safety. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in an "adopt-a-patient" program, where they get to follow a patient for 24 hours. Discussion regarding issues outside of residency will include leadership training, emotional health, career guidance, and managing finances. TRIPLE was piloted in 2007 and received stellar reviews from students. The pilot will be expanded in 2008.
