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URMC » Strategic Plan » Plan At A Glance

• The Plan at a Glance
  • The Planning Process
    • Committee lists
    • Blue Ribbon Panel
  • The Plan by Mission
    • Education
    • Research
    • Patient Care
    • Community Health
• Overarching Goals
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• Dentistry and Nursing Strategic Plans
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Education

URMC’s 2007-2012 Strategic Plan takes advantage of its innovative heritage, including the development of the biopsychosocial model of medical education and practice, and the much emulated Double-Helix Curriculum which teaches undergraduates by weaving together cutting-edge, evidence-based medical science and the art of clinical medical practice.

Since the last strategic plan, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry has emerged as a national leader in teaching and evaluating residents and fellows in the six "core competencies" identified by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME):

• patient care
• medical knowledge
• communication
• professionalism
• practice-based learning and improvement
• systems-based practice

Throughout the U.S., medical residents in all fields must demonstrate specific skill and knowledge of these competencies in order to graduate, and soon practicing physicians will be required to demonstrate continued competence in these areas to maintain board certification.

The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry plans to take the core competencies concept to a new level, establishing a new national model for undergraduate medical education. In the next five years, we will extend those same six graduate education competencies to our medical school undergraduates, renaming them as “domains of excellence.” In so doing, we have the opportunity to become the first medical school to integrate these domains of excellence into every stage of physicians’ education.

In addition to the Domains of Excellence and Academic Research Track initiative, we’ll also stress the integration of health care teams by sharing new educational technologies such as mannequin simulation between the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the School of Nursing; strengthening the basic science strand of the Double-Helix Curriculum; enhancing and refining the M.D./Ph.D. program; and ensuring appropriate hands-on clinical experience with a balanced exposure to primary care and specialty fields, as well as ambulatory and hospital-based medicine.

Graduate Medical Education

At the graduate level, the School of Medicine will continue to lead the nation in its focus on the ACGME core competencies, emphasizing systems-based practice. The School’s leadership has partnered with Strong Memorial’s quality improvement group to measure the link between educational quality and patient care outcomes. The School of Medicine is improving its website to attract outstanding students, residents and fellows. To evaluate potential program expansion, we have developed a quality indicator system that allows us to track individual program quality data such as recruitment statistics, board pass rate, publications, and more.

New Doctoral Program in Translational Science

One of the most exciting new initiatives proposed in the new strategic plan is the creation of a Ph.D. in Translational Biomedical Science, envisioned and funded through the CTSI (Clinical Translational Sciences Institute). Once approved by the state’s Department of Education, it will be the first doctoral program in this discipline in the country – and a model for others sure to appear at other universities. It will produce career scientists specially skilled in translating bench science into bedside medical practice – the minds needed to drive our translational focus.

Faculty from the Center for Oral Biology and the Department of Dentistry have received an NIH training grant to fund a first-of-its-kind program so that undergraduate dental students from other institutions can obtain a Ph.D. in oral biology at Rochester. Plus, a joint Ph.D./M.B.A. program has been established between the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Simon School whereby medical school Ph.D. students simultaneously complete coursework for the MBA during the Ph.D. thesis phase. Success measures for this new program are due in the next couple of years.

Amid a national shortage of physicians, the School of Medicine and Dentistry continues to provide our area with a steady supply of skilled physicians. Nearly half of the doctors who practice in the region studied and/or trained at this medical school. This gives Rochester a distinct edge over other communities without medical schools, raising the standard of living.