Helpful Links

Navigate OHIO

Connect With Us

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Heritage Hall, Athens, OH 45701
Directions

Standard 6.14

“The COM must develop a process that evaluates the clerkship in regards to meeting the COM’s mission and objectives.”

The Heritage College has most rotations in Ohio, in community settings that create a sense of resident identification in which to train physicians who will practice in Ohio. Additionally, the Heritage College meets this standard having developed a comprehensive plan to evaluate clerkships in Years 3 and 4. Students complete an online evaluation via E*Value of each rotation and primary clinical faculty. These evaluations are reviewed by the Assistant Deans and shared (after removing student identification) with the clinical campus medical education department and the appropriate clinical faculty. Additionally, students evaluate all didactic sessions presented at the clinical campuses and are required to log a minimum of ten procedures while on assigned rotations. The procedures expected to be observed, assisted with, or mastered are listed in the respective syllabi. Clinical faculty approve all procedure logs.

Assessment for students during the clinical years, in addition to evaluation by faculty, include successful completion of post rotation exams for all third-year assigned rotations (not including required selective rotations). Heritage College uses NBOME COMAT exams (aka shelf exams) to assess performance in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Surgery, Pediatrics, OPP, Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.

In 2015-2016, Heritage College selected MedU case-based modules (listed in manual) to be successfully completed for all required rotations prior to taking the specialty’s COMAT exam. The MedU modules ensure that all students master core curriculum elements (see Aquifier). The modules are used by over 150 medical schools (including Harvard School of Medicine, The Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve). MedU resources are peer reviewed and the courses are built on collaborations with professional specialty organizations and their membership. During on-site visits, Heritage College students have stated that the modules have reinforced their learning on corresponding rotations, and feedback on the modules has been positive overall. The college administration believes that the modules have assisted in providing a consistent education to all students throughout the state, and through site visits, will continue to convey and discuss with students the value of the MedU case-based modules to enhance their learning in addition to their hands-on experiences.

On-site visits are conducted annually at each of Heritage College’s 12 clinical campuses. Attendees at these visits include the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and/or the Associate Dean of Clinical Education, the Director of Clinical Education, a representative of Faculty Development, a representative from the Research office, a representative from the Office of Institutional Assessment and Accreditation (OIAA), a representative of Clinical Informatics and a representative from the Office of Student Affairs. These representatives meet privately with year 3 and 4 students at each visit to discuss their experiences. Students are encouraged to speak on whatever subject is pertinent to them as well as to share information about a range of topics. For example, students are asked about clinical campus staff helpfulness, best/worst rotations, their experiences with EHR, the use of OMM on rotations and their thoughts on the OPP curriculum. They are asked about their perceptions of didactics at their clinical campus in general, and any other issues that would help the Heritage College better support its mission of providing a clinically integrated, learning-centered, osteopathic medical education continuum for students, interns, residents, and fellows. Because students have stated that they appreciate the supportive family atmosphere at Heritage College, students are asked if this sense of belonging transfers to the clinical campuses. Following the meeting with students, feedback is shared at the time of the visit with the clinical campus staff, and brought back to share with faculty and staff at all levels of the osteopathic medical education curriculum. Crosswalks are created from each visit to document the items discussed at the visits, and are used for reporting and improvement processes.

In addition, students complete an exit survey at the end of their year 4 rotations to report their experiences as clinical students and preparation for residency. The OIAA is responsible for conducting this annual survey of graduating seniors after incorporating feedback from the clinical curriculum coordinators and modifying question content from results of previous survey iterations. All seniors are required to complete the survey as part of graduation, so the survey has 100% completion. Results from this survey are fed back to the clinical campus administration, Curriculum Advisory Committee (CAC), and Curriculum Steering Committees as appropriate.

Supporting Documentation