A. PIL will prepare students to meet the Exit Objectives of the School of Medicine as defined by the Educational Coordinating Committee. (See Student Handbook.)

B. Objectives which specifically address the Goals of PIL include Content (knowledge base) and Process (skills, methods, attitudes) learning areas:

1. Content:

PIL students will:

a. Know the basic biomedical, clinical, and social science information base relevant to medicine in a context that will enable this knowledge base to be integrated and efficiently applied in the practice of medicine.

b. Know the normal structure and function of the human body necessary to recognize and differentiate effects of illness upon physical examination.

c. Know the structural and functional characteristics of disease processes to enable initial differential diagnoses to be formed.

d. Know the infectious agents and immunologic responses most likely to be responsible for a patient's illness, as well as the structural, functional, or regulatory characteristic most susceptible to intervention.

e. Be aware of the pharmacologic agents available to treat specific diseases and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic characteristics of the drugs which allow their selection and safe use in specific patients

2. Process:

PIL students will:

a. Become self-directed learners with the ability to:

(1) Assess personal educational needs

(2) Acquire and use knowledge

(3) Select and use appropriate learning resources

(4) Manage information technologies

(5) Assess their own educational achievement and progress

b. Develop interpersonal skills necessary to function as a productive member of a small group engaged in learning, research, and health care.

c. Be able to integrate the relevant scientific information necessary to understand the disease process and its manifestations which are responsible for the complete picture of illness in the patient.

d. Be able to communicate with patients in a manner which elicits essential information from the patient including the patient's expectations and fears regarding his/her illness.

e. Be able to utilize primary source material, e.g., biological specimens, laboratory data, biomedical literature, and patient data to build an integrated, functional knowledge base.

f. Be able to utilize the elements of the "clinical reasoning process" to form appropriate presumptive diagnoses.

g. Efficiently utilize information resources necessary to form a complete diagnostic assessment and the full array of therapeutic options.

h. Be ready to apply the techniques and rationale for a complete physical examination.

I. Select and interpret the most relevant data from the most appropriate diagnostic test.

j. Effectively and efficiently evaluate new information relevant to clinical problems.

k. Possess intellectual skills that enable a physician to adapt to changing technological and social aspects of medicine.

Evaluation of students in PIL will be based on these objectives and the extent to which each student has achieved the stated outcomes.

To provide an integrated educational program which emphasizes awareness of the patient as a person and the development of independent learning and teamwork skills. The program will provide the foundation for lifelong learning in medicine. At its core, PIL will be student-centered learning of patient-centered medicine