PATIENTS AND SCIENCES - COURSE 2 21 Credits/Maximum of 21

Catalog description

PS-2 builds on navigational immersion from PS-1 to allow students increasing responsibilities as longitudinally contributing participants in primary care health teams. Authentic patient -based experiences provide the context for learning through small group inquiry (IQ) discussions, Collaborative Science Tutorials, and independent study, guided by experienced educational mentors. PS-2 core components: - Practice Immersion: Students will participate in specific community practice sites 3 half-days/week under supervision. - Inquiry Groups (IQ Groups): Students will meet in small (5-7 students) IQ groups at least 10-12 hours/week to share patient narratives, develop questions for exploration and develop learning objectives encompassing the four pillars of the PSU-COM curriculum - Basic Science, Clinical Science, Health Systems Science, and Humanities. The process will continue in a fashion similar to PS-1. Initial weekly sessions focus on patient summaries in order to develop shared case-based goals and learning objectives. Students research the shared objectives for discussion in Wednesday and Friday IQ sessions. Patient cases will be chosen to complement and extend the depth and breadth of learning initiated in PS-1. The students will also engage in formative, integrative critical thinking activities on Tuesday afternoons to enhance learning. - Integrated clinical skills (emphasizing Hypothesis-Driven Diagnostic Learning--HDDL): Time will be devoted to clinical skill development, building on the scaffold from PS-1. - Collaborative Science Tutorials (CST): The CST will take on an expanding role in PS-2. Based on mapping of objectives from PS-1, identified gaps and areas requiring deeper coverage form the substrate for small group sessions facilitated by subject matter experts from University Park and Hershey. Collaborations with Eberly College of Science, the College of Health and Human Development, the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Arts and Architecture have been established. PSU will build on PS1 learning objectives and continue the mapping process to align with PSU COM core content. - Assessment: Formative and summative assessment activities will be similar to PS-1 and are designed to support active learning, self-assessment, and skills in critical and systems thinking. - Mapping and Tracking: Learning objectives derived from IQ Groups and Collaborative Science Tutorials, self-study, and assessment feedback will continue to be mapped to PSU-COM competencies and sub-competencies and PSU core content. These markers of professional development will be addressed in Portfolio reflections and reviewed with faculty mentors to identify gaps and focus areas for future learning.