I get such a kick out of this quote: "The School of Medicine has developed a concrete schedule for the overhaul of its entire curriculum to be implemented in fall 2004, despite the uncertainty of specifically how and what aspects of the curriculum will change."
What part of it is "concrete" if it's uncertain what will change??!
All joking aside though, I'd like to shed some light on these changes, having had direct contact with the curriculum committee and heard lots about these changes from the deans. I worry that the vague announcements in the Chronicle will end up creating lots of misconceptions about what's going on with curriculum revision at Duke, and may cause people to second guess their decision to apply to or attend Duke Med.
First, it's important to realize that a number of these changes, such as the "three integrated blocks" arrangement, have already been partially enacted/tested, the point being that revisions are being tried and re-tried so there won't be a disaster for the class starting with the final changes in place. The same goes for the "week-long classroom experiences" during the 2nd year...a trial version of this already happened a few months ago, and students provided feedback regarding how to improve it for future classes.
From what I've heard, one of the big changes is to allow for elective rotations during the 2nd year, because students have complained that it's sometimes tough to choose a residency program without getting to do an elective in the specialty they wish to pursue. And as a result, there will be some added requirements for the 4th year...I've heard something about an ICU/ER type of requirement, and I know there were some other proposals, but I don't know what ended up happening with them.
I don't know anything more about the details of these revisions, but I've heard from a number of people taking part in the process that the essence of the Duke curriculum will remain in place. In other words, clinical experience will still make up the majority of the 2nd year, and the 3rd year will be set aside for research.
Anyway, that's basically what I know so far. I love Duke, and would be happy to answer any questions about being a student here!
