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MD Program Objectives- Katz School of Medicine  Graduation Competencies

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University is dedicated to educating and training students to be outstanding physicians prepared to meet the healthcare needs of diverse patient populations. As such, the Katz School of Medicine graduation competencies were developed to guide the design and implementation of the medical student curriculum.  The competencies, delineated in seven competency domains, define the objectives that students are expected to achieve by completion of the MD program.

Medical Knowledge

Katz School of Medicine graduates must demonstrate a broad working knowledge of the scientific underpinnings of medicine, the social and societal factors affecting the practice of medicine, and the application of evidence-based knowledge to clinical problem-solving and patient care. Graduates must demonstrate continual engagement in self-directed and independent learning and reflective evaluation to remain current in their knowledge necessary for clinical practice.

Students must demonstrate knowledge of:

  1. The normal structure and function of the human body throughout the life cycle, including the molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms important in maintaining the body's homeostasis.
  2. Diseases, including their causes and effects on the human body.
  3. Health maintenance, the prevention of disease and injury, and the promotion of wellness in the care of individual patients, their families, and the community, as well as the mechanisms of disease and injury, treatment and amelioration of pain and suffering.
  4. How factors such as age/agism, gender/sexism, ethnicity/racism, sexual orientation/homophobia, functional limitations/ablism, languages, belief systems, and socioeconomic status/classism affect health, wellness, and medical care of a diverse patient population, and systematic approaches reduce the burden of these diseases.
  5. Basic principles and ethics of clinical and translational research and how such research is conducted, evaluated, applied, and communicated in the care of patients. 
Patient Care

Katz School of Medicine graduates must be able to demonstrate the ability to provide patient-centered care that is evidence-based, compassionate, effective, cost-efficient and appropriate for the promotion of health and wellness and the treatment of health problems.

Students must demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Obtain both a focused and comprehensive medical history and perform an appropriately focused and thorough physical and mental status examination in a respectful manner.
  2. Develop a differential diagnosis for patients with common acute and chronic clinical conditions.
  3. Construct appropriate management strategies aimed at improving wellness in treating patients with common acute and chronic conditions, including the interpretation of clinical data and treatment modalities.
  4. Acquire the technical skills to perform common medical procedures.
  5. Provide both written documentation and verbal communication that is effective, organized, timely and logical.
  6. Incorporate the findings of emerging research into clinical decision-making and problem solving.
  7. Understand and practice the components of safe transition of care.
Interpersonal and Communication Skills

Katz School of Medicine graduates must demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families and all health care professionals.

Students must demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Interact and communicate respectfully, effectively and empathetically with patients, their families, all health care professionals, and the public across all ages, gender, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and to address issues in a sensitive, compassionate, and non-judgmental manner.
  2. Effectively communicate scientific and medical knowledge to patients to enable health understanding, health care decision-making and health literacy.
Professionalism

Katz School of Medicine graduates must demonstrate professionalism, which embodies the responsibilities of a physician that go beyond knowledge and technical skills related to the delivery of health care. This includes honesty, trust and mutual respect while maintaining patient confidentiality and a commitment to the welfare of patients.

Students must demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Maintain emotional, physical, and mental health wellness; a professional image; and, pursue continual personal and professional growth.
  2. Maintain personal motivation, compassion, reliability, integrity, and honesty in all interactions with patients, their families and all healthcare professionals.
  3. Maintain responsiveness to patient needs that supersedes self-interest and to serve as a healthcare advocate for individual patients and all patient populations.
  4. Understand and commit to ethical and legal principles in all aspects of patient care, including beneficence, justice, confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, and patient autonomy.
  5. Demonstrate an awareness of, and sensitivity to, diversity among patients and colleagues, providing effective care that respects individual differences and using strategies to assess and mitigate one’s own potential biases, treating all patients in a non-judgmental manner.
  6. Recognize their abilities and limitations, participate in ongoing self-assessment, actively seek and respond to feedback, and continuously strive to improve patient care. 
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

Katz School of Medicine graduates must demonstrate the ability to recognize their role as patient care providers within the greater context of the healthcare system, committing to lifelong learning and professional improvement, including honest and thoughtful self-evaluation, team-based collaboration and analysis of clinical practice and outcomes within the framework of standards of care and best practices as defined by scientific evidence.

Students must demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Pursue opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills that can be applied to patient care.
  2. Improve patient care by thoughtful analysis of their own patient population and pertinent characteristics of the communities where their patients live as well as the ability to apply scientific evidence to improve patient care and reduce medical errors.
  3. Understand the appropriate roles of technology and information management in both education and patient care.
  4. Facilitate the education of the healthcare team and utilize constructive feedback to enhance patient care. 
Systems-Based Practice

Katz School of Medicine graduates must demonstrate knowledge of the structure and function of the multiple healthcare systems and all health professions engaged in the provision of care at both a patient and community level and demonstrate the ability to use appropriate system resources and best practices to provide optimal patient care.

Students must demonstrate:

  1. The knowledge of their own role, as well as the roles of other healthcare professionals in the delivery of patient care and the ways in which they collaborate in the care of both individuals and communities.
  2. The knowledge of healthcare economics and the major organizational models of healthcare delivery and their role in controlling healthcare costs and allocating resources.
  3. The ability to practice cost effective healthcare and resource utilization while maintaining a high quality of patient care, including those times when patients are unable to access healthcare.
  4. An awareness of the complexities of medical practice with regard to ethical and legal issues and their impact on clinical decision-making.
  5. An understanding of the use of quality improvement and patient safety in assuring effective, patient-centered, timely, and equitable care, while avoiding harm to patients. 
Interprofessional Collaboration

Katz School of Medicine graduates must demonstrate the ability to practice within an interprofessional team to provide safe and effective patient care and demonstrate the ability to integrate knowledge of their own role and the roles of other healthcare providers in a shared leadership model to provide exemplary patient care.

Students must demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals and maintain a climate of mutual respect, dignity, inclusion, integrity, and trust.
  2. Use the knowledge of their own role and the roles of other healthcare professionals to address the healthcare needs of the patients and populations served.