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Curriculum Renewal – Governance
Curriculum Renewal – Governance for Undergraduate Medicine
Serving society's needs is of the utmost importance and requires training graduates who are well-equipped to assume leadership roles in their communities. This entails keeping a constant, watchful eye toward advancing the M.D.,C.M. program curriculum and continuous fine-tuning to ensure it remains in step with the health sciences environment of the 21st century in Quebec, nationally, and globally, including rapid advances in scientific knowledge. The undergraduate medical education program is overseen by the M.D.,C.M. Program Committee. This committee makes and enacts policies relevant to the design and delivery of the M.D.,C.M. program. It ensures that the program is aligned with the Faculty's mission statement and that it complies with relevant accreditation standards. It is responsible for the design, management, integration, evaluation, and continual improvement of the medical curriculum. The Chair of the committee is the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME). There is wide student representation within all educational committees, whether at the M.D.,C.M. Program Committee, its subcommittees, or its discipline subcommittee levels.
For more information on M.D.,C.M. program governance, see www.mcgill.ca/ugme/mdcm-curriculum-joint-programs/ugme-governance.
Assessment System
Assessment System for Undergraduate Medicine
The Assessment System is multifaceted and under constant review by the Faculty. The Faculty reserves the right to change any of these rules and regulations at any time, although in general such changes will not come into effect in the middle of a Promotion Period. For complete Faculty regulations, reference should be made to the Faculty of Medicine's Undergraduate Medical Education Academic Policies.
The M.D.,C.M. program functions on a pass/fail system. The student's final grade for each course is recorded on the university transcript as <S> satisfactory (pass) or <U> unsatisfactory (fail).
Numeric grades, where recorded, are used for internal purposes (e.g., scholarships, awards and prizes, and identifying and tracking students in academic difficulty) and to provide feedback to the student on his/her progress through the program.
For the purposes of assessment, the four-year curriculum is broken down into promotion periods (subject to change; see below).
Promotion Periods
Promotion Periods
For details regarding promotion regulations, please refer to www.mcgill.ca/ugme/policies-procedures/promotion-regulations.
Please refer to the appropriate edition of the Health Sciences eCalendar at www.mcgill.ca/students/courses/calendars for further details.
Student Promotions
Student Promotions
The Student Promotions Committee (SPC) is a decision-making body, mandated by the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Medical Education) to interpret and apply the program's promotion regulations, duly established by the M.D.,C.M. Program Committee.
The mandate of the SPC is to review academic progress of students enrolled in the M.D.,C.M. program. The Committee also reviews academic progress of students enrolled in the Dentistry (D.M.D.) program during the Fundamentals of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) component of the curriculum. It has final authority to decide on the suitability of each medical student for the practice of medicine; these decisions are not subject to the approval of the M.D.,C.M. Program Committee. In its review of student files, the Committee considers all issues related to academic performance, including professionalism. Students should refer to the Promotion Regulations Policy.
Failure of Supplemental Activities
Failure of Supplemental Activities
A failure of a supplemental activity in a Promotion Period will result in the student being required to repeat the Promotion Period or to be dismissed from the program as determined by the SPC. A student may not repeat more than one Promotion Period in the curriculum. Failure in any course during a repeat Promotion Period will result in immediate dismissal from the program. For more information, students should refer to the UGME Student Assessment Policy.
Notice of Failures
Notice of Failures
It is the student's responsibility to be available for notification of a failing grade. If a student is unable to be located after a reasonable effort by the Dean's office, the consequences will be borne fully by the student.
Program Overview
Program Overview
Due to curriculum changes, program components and courses may be revised. Revisions will be posted in the learning management system.
The current M.D.,C.M. curriculum, implemented in fall 2013, marking one of the largest renewals in Faculty history, is a product of five years of reflection, multidisciplinary consultation, planning, and development. Rooted in the principle of "The Patient at Heart and Science in Hand," the curriculum fully recognizes the importance of family medicine in addressing current needs, while simultaneously providing a program that is firmly rooted in science. Also significant is interdisciplinary learning, as well as offering a longitudinal experience where the major themes are learned in tandem rather than in isolation.
For more information on M.D.,C.M. program governance, see www.mcgill.ca/ugme/mdcm-curriculum-joint-programs/ugme-governance.