ACOE_Self-Study

• Preclinical courses, in which students learn clinical skills and procedures, have laboratories that support and assess the development of these skills and procedures using high fidelity simulators or actual clinical instrumentation where students perform procedures on each other or actual patients. • Students participate in clinical patient care starting in the first year with clinical responsibilities increasing as the student develops competency. • During the entire third professional year, and at least one quarter of the fourth year, students render direct patient care in the UEC under the supervision of members of clinical faculty. o Students spend most of the third-year clinical time in the Primary Care Clinic. o Third-year students review charts and discuss clinical management and charting of current clinical cases. o Students rotate through the UEC’s various specialty clinics . o The student to doctor ratio is generally 3:1 in third year and 4:1 in fourth year. • The fourth year is divided into 4 quarters with students typically assigned to external sites for three of these quarters. The externship program is described in detail under Standard 2.10. • Externship rotations are designed to provide each student with comprehensive clinical experience in the following core clinical competencies ( Appendix II-4a ): o The evaluation and management of refractive error o The evaluation and management of motor, sensory, and perceptual dysfunction o The evaluation and management of ocular disease and trauma o Interprofessional collaborative care • Student clinical performance is assessed relative to the curricular learning objectives. Students are assessed on ( Appendix II-4b ): o Patient care abilities including technical skills, data interpretation and case management o Interpersonal and communication skills o Professional and ethical behavior Curricular Structure The curriculum is delivered in two 16-week semesters per year for the first three years including midterms. Individual courses may be conducted for a full semester or within an eight-week module. An additional 10-week summer session takes place in year three. Year four consists of four 12-week quarters beginning in the summer after year three. The curriculum features seven tracks ( Appendix II-3 ) that extend throughout the four years: Tracks Centered in the Department of Biological and Vision Sciences • Systemic and Ocular Health • Refractive Conditions • Visual Perception and Sensorimotor Control Tracks Centered in the Department of Clinical Education • Clinical Examination • Public/Community Health

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