Flexible Clinical Experience (FCE) Course | through AY2023-2024
... my favorite experiences in medical school. The attendings and the residents were excellent teachers. I saw amazing cases and always felt part of the team. Exposure to the field through this unique, wonderful group of people is what made me want to go into ... (UMass Chan MS3 student) |
Welcome to the course designed to offer an educational break from the traditional clerkship rotation curriculum that offers the student the opportunity to explore uncommon subspecialties, work closely with experts in academic research, and to design innovative medical education.
The required FCE course embodies the spirit of the new curriculum, by expanding the opportunity for individual exploration in a variety of clinical and translational science fields, early in the students' career. The course curriculum is considered self-directed in that students choose from a diverse offering of pre-designed experiences or design their own week-long experience. The advantages of early exposure to a medical specialty include the opportunity to foster mentorships, to nurture and develop interest in the specialty and to provide intrinsic motivation to pursue further learning in the chosen field(s). These experiences may also help to explore a career choice.
In this multidisciplinary learning program, following a broad set of guidelines, students learn in a variety of methods depending on the experience they choose. Experiences emphasize one-on-one interaction between student and teacher. Criteria for granting credit are experience-specific minimum standards of performance as laid down by sponsoring departments.
The FCE Course is specifically designed to
- allow for career exploration and or development
- allow exposure to evolving and cutting-edge branches of medicine
- provide an opportunity to work with recognized experts in different fields of medicine and allied sciences
- provide exposure to novel concepts or systems of care not normally available within the core clinical experience
- allow for student designed innovative experiences within the guidelines for this elective
updated AUG 30 2022 | cjb