Learning Objectives

General Objectives

The aim of the Undergraduate Medical Program is to provide students with a general professional education as physicians. The Program enables students to build upon previous education and experience, using available learning resources and opportunities. The competencies achieved by graduates will qualify them to proceed to further postgraduate training.

While most graduates will be involved directly with the care of individual patients, it is expected that some will choose careers concerned with the health of populations and the development of new knowledge.

The overriding objective to be achieved is the demonstrated ability to identify, analyse and manage clinical problems in order to provide effective, efficient and humane patient care.

Enabling Objectives

Enabling objectives consisting of knowledge, skills and professional behaviour comprise the following:

Knowledge:

To acquire and put into practice concepts and information required to understand and manage health care problems. The study of human structure, function and behaviour will be guided by an analysis of the determinants of health and illness.

A spectrum of factors will be considered in both the external and internal environments of individuals when deciding on preventative, therapeutic, rehabilitative and supportive management.

Skills:

To acquire and use the following skills:

• Critical thinking skills: The application of certain rules of evidence to clinical, investigational and published data in order to determine their validity and applicability.
  
• Clinical skills: The ability to acquire, interpret, synthesize and record clinical information in managing the health problems of patients, considering their physical, social and emotional function. Included is the use of the clinical reasoning process.
  
• Self-directed learning skills: The ability to identify areas of deficiency in one's own performance, find appropriate educational resources, evaluate personal learning progress, and use new knowledge and skills in the care of patients.

Professional behaviour: To recognize, develop and maintain the professional behaviour required for a career as a health professional. Acquiring the authority to intervene in the lives of patients carries with it the obligation to act responsibly:

• toward oneself: to recognize and acknowledge personal assets, emotional reactions and limitations in one's own knowledge, skills and attitudes, to build on one's assets and to overcome areas of limitation;
  
• toward patients and their families: to be able, under appropriate supervision, to take responsibility for the assessment and care of patients and their families;
  
• toward colleagues: to contribute to productive communication and cooperation among colleagues engaged in learning, research or health care;
  
• toward the community: to contribute to the maintenance and improvement of the health of the general population.