Resources
Office of Medical Education
The Office of Medical Education:
- Provides educational support for faculty and students.
- Provides multi-media systems design and hardware installation for medical school education.
- Provides faculty development through instructional techniques, design and evaluation, in coordination with the Office of Faculty and Student Development.
- Provides educational resources, including audiovisual aids, instructional videotapes and computer software programs.
- Develops and implements computer-based instructional systems.
- Assists in the development of special educational programs.
- Assists in curriculum development and evaluation of curricular programs.
- Provides evaluation of instructional systems and techniques.
- Provides audiovisual support services for lecture halls, small group classrooms and special events.
- Provides individual and group tutorials, mock examinations and study skills workshops.
- Provides research in medical education, instructional design, evaluative techniques and educational technology.
- Consults with faculty and staff of the medical school, as well as the other UMB schools, in media production.
- Provides classroom scheduling.
A variety of services, administered by the director of Academic Development, offer a variety of opportunities for students to become more effective, efficient learners. These services include:
The Prematriculation Summer Program (PSP): Prior to the beginning of the academic year, incoming freshmen are invited to take part in a six-week simulation of the first year curriculum. Participants study significant portions of Structure & Development and Cell & Molecular Biology, and are given a brief introduction to Functional Systems; learn to handle the medical school's accelerated pace and grasp-of-material demands; gain practice in gross anatomy and histology labs, small group study, and exam-taking; and refine their study skills and habits to meet the new challenges. PSP is especially designed for students who are at greater risk of not succeeding in medical school; such applicants are given enrollment preference. Follow-up studies have consistently shown that PSP has had a positive and significant impact on the academic achievement of PSP students. Each year, the program also affords a select group of academically talented sophomores the opportunity to explore academic medicine and sharpen their own academic knowledge by teaching this class of approximately 20 students.
Supplemental Instruction: Individual and small group tutorials are available to all freshmen and sophomores as needed at no charge.
Academic Development Workshops: At various times throughout the year, formal presentations and panel discussions addressing topics of general concern and interest (e.g., time management, active learning, test-taking and course previews) are conducted.
Academic Counseling: Individual counseling sessions, focusing on problems affecting academic performance and strategies for improvement, are available to all medical, physical therapy and medical technology students.
Academic Monitoring: First- and second-year exam results are reviewed frequently. Students who do not pass an exam or whose results are significantly lower than usual are invited in for consultation as soon as possible after the poor exam showing. The student works with the director in specifying what went wrong and in fashioning an appropriate remedy. Follow-up contacts provide additional support to the student.
Board Preparation: A series of activities assist sophomores in getting ready for the USMLE STEP I.
Activities include: gathering and sharing with sophomores the collective wisdom of juniors whom have just taken the boards; offering frequent formal review sessions covering "high yield" exam topics; conducting occasional information-sharing workshops and panel discussions; identifying "at risk" students who may have difficulty with STEP I for special board prep assistance; in individual consultations, structuring study strategies/schedules, answering questions and discussing areas of concern; administering a February mock board which provides students with baseline information as well as giving a "heads up" that the boards are approaching; helping those who must retake the STEP I. Board review books are available for circulation from the academic development resource library. By request, assistance also is given to those preparing for the STEP II or the specialty licensing exams.
Research: Ongoing data collection and analysis provide a source of information useful in clarifying the role and interplay of various factors involved in student learning. These qualitative and quantitative data sets are utilized by others conducting research or making curriculum decisions.
Educational Screening/Special Accommodations: Students with learning disabilities (LD) or attention deficit disorders (ADD) receive assistance in minimizing the disability's impact on their academic performance. Students suspected of being LD or ADD, but not previously identified as such, are referred for testing. If the results are positive, the student will receive assistance in gaining accommodations and adjusting his/her study approach accordingly.
Student Computer Facilities: The Office of Medical Education is responsible for the operation of a student computer facility in addition to the student laptops: the Computer Learning Center. This facility is located on the second floor of the MSTF building and consists of 20 stations open throughout the day. The Office of Medical Education maintains the network and provides help-desk activities dedicated to supporting student laptop computers and use by the students.
Photography: Services include photographic copying of flat material such as written matter, x-rays, laboratory tracings and data; photography of specimens, equipment set-ups, surgical, clinical and laboratory activities; and portraits for school-related purposes. The photography laboratory also handles slide duplication and acts as a collection station for commercial processing of color photography. Computer-developed color slides are a major area of service.
Instructor Technology: The Office of Medical Education develops and maintains MedScope, the Web site dedicated to medical school curriculum and student life.
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