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UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program Curriculum in Informatics

Curriculum Goals:

  1. Adopt the general principles of the Pew Competencies, specifically #12 see attachment PewComp1) ["Manage Information - Practitioners should manage and use large volumes of scientific, technological and patient information."]
  2. Adopt the general principles of the Medical School Objectives Project, Medical Informatics Objectives.
  3. Implement a JMP curriculum for Basic Informatics. This will consist of Competencies, Benchmarks, and Curriculum.

The key terms used in the description of this curriculum are hyperlinked to JMP Key Vocabulary page: Competency, Benchmark, Curriculum, Pre-Basic Competency. In the Informatics curriculum, any specific curricular event will generally be arranged on an ad hoc basis as individuals require it. Contact Bette Anton for specifics.

Pre-Basic Competencies A-D
Basic Competency - 1. JMP HUB use
Basic Competency - 2. PubMed
Basic Competency - 3. Core medical texts
Basic Competency - 4. Public domains, Formats and Transfers
Basic Competency: 5. Bibliographic database management
Basic Competency - 6. Presentations

Pre-Basic Competencies A-D

    Competency A: Micro Computer Use. Demonstrate ability to turn on a computer, locate, open and use a word processing program to create a document that can be copied and reopened. The document should be checked for spelling, and should have a figure or table imported from another document or program, with reference to that document. Print document.

    Benchmark A: Assumed. See Competency 1

    Curriculum: 1 hour workshop in basic computer/word processing skills (using Word or comparable)


    Competency B: E-mail

    Competency B: Demonstrate ability to configure and use mail client
    software to send & receive e-mail, attach and read documents. Demonstrate understanding of client-server model.

    Benchmark B: Assumed. See Competency 1

    Curriculum: small group session in configuring and using Eudora (45 min).

    Competency: C. Internet

    Competency C: Demonstrate ability to navigate the WWW & use search
    engines to find materials in support of anatomy information.

    Benchmark C: Assumed. See Competency 1


    • Part 1:

    using Netscape, learn basic navigation skills (Web tutorial, self-paced).

  • Part 2: Develop search strategies and learn how to use search engines, with a focus on learning to use health & medical search engines/meta-index sites. Evaluate Web material. Discuss with Bette Anton. (2 hours)

Competency D. Library Catalogs

Compentency D: Demonstrate knowledge of the UCB catalogs, including an understanding of when to use each one. Have knowledge of other Library databases available and when they would appropriately be searched.

Benchmark D: Assumed. See Competency 1

Curriculum: To be arranged on a remedial basis with Bette Anton

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Basic Competency: 1. JMP HUB Tool

    When: By end of Summer Term, 1st year

    Competency 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the JMP HUB tool. Specific skills include the ability to log onto HUB, accessing resources, cases, student specific data, message boards, and learning issues. Additionally, students must be able to upload appropriately labled learning objects, and to perform a learning issue search by author, case, unit or subject area.

    Benchmark 2: Create a learning object which includes an image obtained from a HUB-based resource. Upload that learning object to a faculty-entered learning issue. Retreave a separate learning object by using the Hub LI Report function.

    Curriculum: Pairs of students will sign up for a 1 hour tutorial within the first 3 weeks of summer session. Sessions will be didicatic in nature, with hands-on exercises and summative assessment within 2 days of completing tutorial.

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Basic Competency: 2. PubMed

    When: By end of Fall semester, 1st year

    Competency 2: Demonstrate knowledge of the content & use PubMed & other relevant bibliographic databases. Demonstrate understanding and use of the indexing vocabulary (e.g., Medical Subject Headings/MeSH) and how it relates to other medical language. Demonstrate ability to refine search strategies to improve relevance. Demonstrate ability to use logical (boolean) operators. Demonstrate ability to print, email and download results.

    Benchmark 2: Prepare a bibliography, including search strategy, on an assigned subject which demonstrates knowledge of the structure of the PubMed databases & appropriate search techniques, with an emphasis on precision and currency. A Learning Object in the CICBC will all these components, and a record of search strategy, would constitute an appropriate benchmark. This must be copied by email to Bette Anton. May also be used to satisfy Benchmark 3.

    Curriculum: To be arranged using campus classes. In PubMed, learn how to define a question, select information source(s), formulate queries, and perform searches using MeSH and boolean search techniques. Evaluate search for currency and precision. (1 - 1 hr session [didactic] or Web tutorial + 1 2hr session [demonstration & hands-on] )

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Basic Competency 3. Core medical texts

    When: End of Fall Semester, 1st year:

    Competency 3: Demonstrate awareness of merits of core medical texts and ability to find relevant medical information in them

    Benchmark 3: Provide links to 3-5 Learning Objects that illustrate this ability when requested to do so.

    Curriculum: Campus resources or small group with Bette Anton. (2 hours)

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Basic Competency: 4. Public domains, Formats and Transfers

    When: By end of Spring semester,1st year

    Competency 4: Establish a public (internet accessible) domain (Web sites as part of your web presence. Convert Word (or comparable) document into HTML, save, and then transfer using file transfer protocol (FTP) or Secure Shell to your public domain.

    Benchmark 4: Send a link to the posted document to Bette Anton, accompanied by the statement that you personally created the public domain and the document, and did the file transfer.

    Curriculum: Individual work with Bette Anton or use of campus resources (estimated 2 hours).

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Basic Competency: 5. Bibliographic database management

    When: Middle Spring Semester, 1st year

    Competency 5: Use bibliographic manager to import citations from PubMed databases, create a personal database, format bibliographies in papers.

    Benchmark 5: See Benchmark 1. If used for this Benchmark, the bibliography must be created using a bibliography manager such as EndNote Plus.

    Curriculum: Web Tutorial. Using EndNote Plus, learn to create personal libraries and manage references, how to use use Word processing tools to insert references and create bibliographies. , etc..... (1-1/2 hours)
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Basic Competency: 6. Presentations

    When: End of Spring Semester, 2nd year:

    Competency 6: Make and present a presentation using electronic visuals (for example, in Power Point).

    Benchmark 6: Thesis Faculty to announce this competency, and allow time for presentation as part of the regular meetings of the thesis groups during 2nd year. Bette Anton to query faculty at end of Spring Semester about all second year students, and faculty to provide sign off on each student.

    Curriculum: Campus resources or small group with Bette Anton. Using Power Point, learn how to prepare for and give a presentation using the visual guidance of electronic presentation graphics; create audience handouts & speaker notes; import/export Word files. (2 hours)

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