Javier Miller and I shared with the accreditors the unique nature of our curriculum,
which provided more one-on-one learning with attending physicians, more
hands-on care, than any other medical school. Also, the small-group learning
situations that helped us problem-solve, which provided us with the opportunity
to interact with patients more realistically in a meaningful human way.
We also shared how we were able to be a front-runner in technology used
in medical education that is so prevalent in medicine today. My classmates
and I were each provided with a laptop computer that enabled us to research
scholarly articles at any time of the day, in addition to having a PDA device
that also allowed us to have medical information at our fingertips for when
we were on our clinical rotations.
The LCME undoubtedly simply misunderstood our novel approach to
the future of medical education. A few months after going to Chicago, we
received the wonderful news that we had been granted provisional accreditation.
My classmates and I had a huge celebration that went on for the whole
weekend.
The friendships and relationships we formed as the first class of the
College of Medicine were so special. Being part of the inaugural class was
an incredible opportunity that has enabled us to draw on our challenges
and experiences to become doers, achievers and think-outside-the-box physicians.
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82 | Breaking the Mold