COVID-19 Updates for Medical Education
Dear Core Clerkship Faculty and Residents,

We hope that this email finds everyone well as summertime returns to the Bay Area. 

You are receiving this because you have been a participant in the Foundations 2 (F2) core clerkship clinical education of our students. Below you will find a brief summary of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clerkship experience for F2 students to date, our guiding principles in responding to those effects, and the changes being planned for F2 going forward as students return to their core clerkships.
Review of F2 Changes to Date
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our F2 students were removed from the clinical environment in March 2020. In order to allow students to continue to make progress toward graduation, F2 students entered newly designed Extended Mastery Learning Rotations (EMLRs). In the EMLRs, students participated in clerkship didactics and studied for and took their clerkship exams. As of July 13, 2020, students will have completed their EMLR experiences and will be ready to return to the clinical learning environment. 
Principles Guiding our Responses
Our work on changes to the core clerkship (F2) curriculum has been guided by the following principles and commitments:

  • Prioritizing the safety of our patients, students, and faculty by minimizing risk of exposure to COVID

  • Preserving the goals, objectives, and milestones of the curriculum and each core clerkship

  • Helping students make progress toward graduation in a timely fashion
Changes to F2 Structure and Function Going Forward
Changes to F2 Structure

  • Shortened Clinical Portions of Clerkships: As the students have done their medical knowledge learning during the EMLR time, the clinical portion of each clerkship will now be half as long as in the standard curriculum (exception: anesthesia remains 2 weeks).

  • New Thematic Clinical Blocks (TCBs): Clerkships will be grouped into TCBs: one procedurally focused (surgery, OB/Gyn, anesthesia), and the other non-procedurally focused (medicine, neurology, psychiatry, pediatrics).

  • Family and Community Medicine Rotation: Students will continue with their Family and Community Medicine longitudinal rotation one day every other week.

  • Foundational Science in F2 Didactic Course: Students have completed their Foundational Science in F2 didactic course, so will not be leaving the clerkships to attend that activity.

Assessment and Grades

  • Bridges Brief Observation Tool (BBOT): Students will still need regular feedback documented in 2 BBOTs per week for the remainder of this year, completed by you, a resident or intern, or the student. To learn more about giving feedback in the Bridges F2 Curriculum, please see additional information here.

  • Midpoint Feedback: Will be given by the teaching attending or clerkship and/or site directors, focused on what students have done with respect to their objectives and required clinical experiences, and what is still to be done.

  • Evaluations: Please complete any evaluations of your student within ONE WEEK of receiving the evaluation notice. With shortened clinical clerkships, students need your timely evaluation comments to inform their learning.

  • Grades: Will be assigned within 38 days after the end of each clerkship, and will continue to be pass/fail.
What Should Faculty Do?
  • Be aware of the changes above, and that additional changes may be necessary based on the evolution of the pandemic in the Bay Area

  • Students will be very focused on meeting clerkship objectives and requirements; please help them by completing BBOTs and giving additional feedback on direct observation of skills as much as possible

  • Complete assigned evaluations within one week

  • If you have questions about the objectives or required clinical experiences for students on the rotation, please reach out to the Site Director or Clerkship Director; these are also included in the clerkship webpage located here

  • As always, please let us know if there are things we can do to help. Your Site Directors, Clerkship Directors, and we in Medical Education are here to help in any way; these are also included in the clerkship web page
We remain ever grateful for your role in helping to educate the next generation of UCSF physicians!


Sincerely,


John Davis, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Curriculum

Karen Hauer, MD, PhD
Associate Dean for Competency Assessment and Professional Standards