April 25, 2003
Indiana University School of Medicine: Medical Education Tips
Good doctors need people skills as well as scientific skills.
The Indiana University School of Medicine is among the first medical
schools in the country to adopt a competency-based curriculum that balances
clinical training with skills in communication, improved understanding
of the social and community context of health care, moral reasoning and
problem-solving, so that graduating students learn to effectively practice
medicine. At the IU School of Medicine’s clinical skills education
center, students are trained and evaluated in clinical skills by ‘patient’
actors who simulate specific health problems. “A student graduating
from the IU School of Medicine is more than a technocrat, our graduates
are complete physicians who care about their patients,” says Stephen
Leapman, M.D., executive associate dean for educational affairs and professor
of surgery at the IU School of Medicine.
Medicine is a science AND an art. Recognizing this,
the Indiana University School of Medicine gives preference to applicants
who have taken basic courses in both science and the humanities. In keeping
with national trends showing that number of applicants exceeds available
placements in U.S. medical schools, the IU School of Medicine last year
enrolled about 280 students out of an applicant pool of almost 1,700.
“We are looking for students who bring with them the love of science
and the humanities, the altruism of our once proud country physicians,
and the compassion and empathy that all doctors of medicine must embody,”
says Stephen Leapman, M.D., executive associate dean for educational affairs
and professor of surgery at the IU School of Medicine.
Money Matters. While there are many undergraduate
scholarships available across the country, there is a significant shortfall
of this type of assistance for those entering medical schools in the U.S.,
notes Jose Espada, director of financial aid at the Indiana University
School of Medicine. To cover the rising cost of a medical education, the
IU School of Medicine awards over $1.8 million each year in the form of
financial aid to its students. In fact, nearly 92 percent of the IU medical
students receive financial assistance in the form of educational loans
and, to a lesser degree, as scholarships and fellowships. “Our challenge,”
adds Espada, “is to make our students informed consumers so they
are able to make the best choices and we do this by assisting medical
students in maintaining financial stability through personal financial
aid counseling, including help with budgeting and debt management.”
We are all over the place. Unlike most other medical schools,
which educate future physicians at one site, the Indiana University School
of Medicine has nine regional medical centers dispersed throughout the
state. For the first two years, students study the basic sciences in small
classes at the regional center of their choice, from Gary to Terre Haute
to Bloomington. This gives students the opportunity to select an urban
or a rural environment or perhaps a location close to home. For the final
two years, they gather at the Indianapolis campus for hands-on patient-care
training at various affiliated hospitals and clinics.
Second century of training future doctors begins. This
year, the Indiana University School of Medicine, which educates the nation’s
second largest medical student body, is celebrating its centennial year.
From the first class at the dawn of the twentieth century to its current
class, the IU School of Medicine has led the way in innovative education
and physician training. A new combined M.D./M.A. degree in philosophy
with an emphasis on bioethics was recently added to the options available
to IU School of Medicine students. Other options are M.D./M.B.A. and M.D./Ph.D.
degrees in addition to the traditional M.D. and Ph.D. degrees.
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Contact: PR Staff
(317) 274-7722
caisen@iupui.edu
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
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317 274 7722
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317 278 8722