RSOM Faculty Development Guide: Start a Teaching Renaissance

In stage 1 we consider the desired results of the design according to the following four categories:

• Established Goals – Course Objectives, RSOM’s ILOs and goals from any professional organizations in the field.
• What understandings are desired?  Understandings should be based on transferable big ideas that give content meaning and connect facts and skills.
• What essential questions will be considered? Instructors should frame the Essential Questions to guide student inquiry and focus instruction for uncovering the important ideas of the content.
• What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit/lecture? What they will know and what they will be able to do.

In the next few sections we will look at examples of each category.

Course Objectives:

•     Gather relevant and accurate patient information by performing a history and physical exam and utilizing laboratory and imaging data. (ILO1) 
•     Demonstrate current knowledge of the biomedical sciences pertinent to human health and disease across the lifespan on actual patients, standardized patients and during clinical case discussions. (ILO7)
•      Acquire, manage, integrate and apply current and evolving knowledge to the care of patients.  (ILO8)
•      Demonstrate understanding of genetic, environmental, psychological, socioeconomic, cultural and spiritual factors that influence human health and disease. (ILO9)
•      Recognize personal limitations, actively seeks help and advice as appropriate and modifies future behavior In response to feedback. (ILO11)
•     Demonstrate adaptive expertise through the ability to critically appraise clinical problem-solving and patient care skills
•     Develop appropriate medical record documentation skills. (ILO 13)
•     Use effective case presentation skills. (ILO 14)
•     Exhibit professionalism through compassion, altruism, integrity, respect, responsibility and sensitivity in meeting obligations inherent in the practice of medicine. (ILO 15)
•     Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to patients' personal characteristics such as race, color, sex, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic or marital status. (ILO 17)

Course learning objectives must match up to RSOM’s ILOS and session learning objectives must match up to course learning objectives.

Students will understand that:

• To derive at a differential diagnosis, it is important to obtain a history of present illness and a chief complaint from patients.
• It is critical for a doctor to fully characterize the symptom in the HPI so they can properly diagnose the patient.
• Acting professionally and having good communication skills in all interactions with patients is important to make the patient feel comfortable.
• It is important to take detailed notes after an interaction with a patient.

Ask your self, "What do I want students to understand after this lesson/unit/course?"

• What are the different components that make up a patient’s medical history?
• What are the 7 attributes of the history of present illness?
• Why do I need to isolate certain symptoms?
• How can I successfully interview patients so that I get all the information I need to obtain a chief complaint and HPI?  
• What information about the chief complaint and HPI is important to write in the post encounter note?

Ask yourself, "What questions should students be able to answer?"

Ask yourself, "What should students be able to know and do?"

Understandings should be based on transferable big ideas that give content meaning and connect facts and skills. So, the understandings connect facts and skills. 

For example , if students understand that it is critical for a doctor to fully characterize the symptom in the HPI so they can properly diagnose the patient.

• Then they will understand why it is important to know:
  • Key terms-history of present illness, chief complaint.
  • The 7 attributes of the history of present illness.
  • Questions to ask to obtain a chief complaint and a history of present illness.
  • The items that make up the history checklist
• And why it is important they have the skills to:
  • Obtain a thorough HPI.
  • Record the chief complaint and HPI after interviewing a patient.