Education

Some students and I had lunch with Vice Dean of Education Irby. It was an informal discussion about how we felt about UCSF. In general, comments were very positive. One of the great things about this luncheon was that I realized how much import UCSF puts into education. The curriculum has changed dramatically over the past few years, and all their changes seem to be for the better. The curricular committees listen to feedback, think of ways to improve, and evaluate other medical schools to see what works best. We might have changes in the clinical core, which will be interesting. They're saying that instead of traditional separated rotations, we'll have a more integrated approach. Perhaps you will be on call in the Emergency Department one night and you get assigned a patient. If he goes to the ICU, you follow him. If he needs radiology tests, you work with the radiologists. If he needs a kidney transplant, you learn both nephrology and surgery. There is a core group of mentors that makes sure you're on track. It's a different kind of approach and incorporates more longitudinal experience rather than experiencing disciplines separately. I'm not sure whether or when this will happen, but it's certainly interesting. In any case, they're constantly trying to improve things around here, and that's what I love about it.