Initiatives in Education

New Student Curriculum

In this era of managed care and the focus on training the "primary care" physician, a joint effort is being made by the Medical Education Committee of the School of Medicine, the Faculty Executive Committee, and departmental education committees to develop a new medical student curriculum at UCLA. Several faculty members and residents from the Departments of Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, and Urology are intimately involved in this process which is described more fully in the Medical Student section of this report. This curriculum is to be in place for third year medical students in the UCLA School of Medicine Class of 2001, effective June, 2000.

Problem-Based Learning Sessions

Problem-Based Learning Sessions (PBL's) have been used in the UCLA School of Medicine for the past several years. Two years ago, the Department of Surgery implemented the PBL session in the didactic teaching of the medical student curriculum in surgery.
     A problem-based learning case is presented in two sessions. During the first session, the case is introduced to the students in such a way to allow them to develop a set of questions or identify unfamiliar issues. By the end of the first session, the basic issues of the case should be clear. In the interim between the first and second sessions, students are instructed to research their questions or issues and to return with a diagnosis or treatment plan. In the second session, students should present their suggestions for laboratory testing and/or further diagnostic data. They receive more information regarding the case, including those lab results.
     PBL's utilize the facilitating skills of the full-time and clinical faculty to guide students, but not to provide the answers. The group should be able to work through the case, using the information provided and their own research, to successfully determine a diagnosis and treatment plan.

STAR Program

The STAR Program provides a unique opportunity for a resident to combine residency training with a specially designed program designed to fulfill requirements for a Ph.D. The Specialty Training and Advanced Research Program (STAR) is very popular with residents in surgical specialties and despite the rigid acceptance criteria, to date, four UCLA surgical residents have been accepted into this program.
     One resident in Neurosurgery, Linda Liau, M.D., Ph.D., under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Bronstein, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience, completed the STAR Program at the end of her clinical training, and in 1999 was appointed as Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at UCLA.
     Two residents currently in the research years of their General Surgery are in their second year of the STAR Program. Michael Fischbein, M.D., will receive his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. His Ph.D. work is being directed by Benjamin Bonavida, Ph.D. and Abbas Ardehali, M.D. James Tomlinson, M.D., working with Sanford Barsky, Ph.D., Department of Pathology will receive his Ph.D. in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Darren Carpizo, a resident in General Surgery, has been accepted into this most competitive program and will also complete his doctoral degree studies in Microbiology and Immunology under the direction of Louisa Iruela-Arispe, Ph.D. who has joint appointments in the Departments of Surgery and Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology.

Surgery Education Committee

The Surgery Education Committee serves as a steering committee for the departmental residency training programs, for the medical student clerkship in surgery, and for postgraduate and continuing education programs. The committee is comprised of members from each division of the Department of Surgery, representation from each of the major affiliated hospitals, the Dean's Office, and from the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Urology. There are also voting resident and medical student members. Meetings are held monthly to discuss issues pertaining to education in the department. Individual committee members, as well as the faculty at large, act as mentors to residents and students during their early experiences in surgery.
     Some recent topics of discussion and/or accomplishment include the restructuring of the 3rd year medical student core curriculum, the design and implementation of the on-line faculty teaching evaluation by residents, development of the resident education retreat, and the development of a policy to award excellent teaching by faculty.

Resident as Teacher Committee The Resident as Teacher Committee is comprised of a group of residents and faculty who are working to develop a standard of teaching for residents in order to ensure that teaching begins at the intern level and continues throughout the residency program and into the academic or clinical practice.
     The Committee has developed plans for the first annual Resident as Teacher Retreat for research and chief residents. This full day retreat includes a keynote address by Ajit Sachdeva, M.D., an outstanding surgical educator and presentations given by UCLA faculty on teaching methods, how to prepare for a presentation, how to present at morbidity and mortality conference, and residents as managers. Role-playing breakout sessions include one-on-one teaching, the one minute teacher, and giving effective feedback.

Division Activities

Resident Representatives Committee
The Division of General Surgery has implemented a Resident Representatives Committee which meets monthly to discuss issues re: the curriculum, and service and on-call concerns. Participation in their own educational decisions empowers the residents and provides an excellent system of evaluation and feedback to the program director. Members of this committee also serve on sub-committees to better distinguish the lines of supervision and responsibility on each clinical service.

Viola Hyde Scholarship
The Viola Hyde Scholarship was established for UCLA female medical students entering surgery residency programs. The scholarship is administered by the UCLA School of Medicine and Andrea Cracchiolo, M.D. from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. This scholarship has been awarded for the past 15 years and has assisted over 80 women who matched in surgery.

     For additional information re: this scholarship opportunity please contact the Surgery Education Office at (310) 206-9291.

Santa Monica Hospital Rotation
Several years ago, the University of California purchased Santa Monica Medical Center. The primary intent behind this decision was to provide a community teaching opportunity for its residency programs at UCLA, as well as to offer an additional service site where UCLA faculty could care for their increasing numbers of patients. Heretofore, though residents trained at a variety of sites, including veterans' hospitals and county facilities, there was little, if any, exposure to the realities of a community practice. This strategy has been particularly advantageous for the Department of Surgery, as it has provided additional operating rooms and service capacity. During the last two years, several surgical divisions have established a real presence at Santa Monica and faculty, fellows, and allied health professionals have begun building practices along selected clinical lines. A group of the Santa Monica Medical staff who had long been members of the voluntary (teaching) faculty became full-time UCLA faculty.
     Beginning in July 1999, the Department will begin rotating residents through Santa Monica services. Clinical programs now offered by UCLA surgical faculty at UCLA/Santa Monica Medical Center include adult cardiac surgery, general and bariatric surgery, spine neurosurgery, head and neck surgery, and upper extremity vascular cases. Plans are in progress to move some of the immediate breast reconstruction cases to Santa Monica and other clinical programs will be designated as space and resources become available. The Departments of Urology and Orthopaedic Surgery have also established clinical programs there this past year.