Medicine in Contemporary Society (MCS) Independent Learning Opportunities (ILO)

Overview

Independent Learning Opportunities allow students to take advantage of the many resources that are part of a teaching hospital. It allows you to customize your MCS experience to your own interests. These opportunities include colloquia offered by the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics as well as student interest group events, community service, and activities that you find valuable to your education and development.

To complete MCS you must attend at least three of these Independent Learning sessions during the course. At least two sessions must be chosen from those provided by the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics or Community Service at SB Home.

For the final session, which we call Personal Choice, you may choose from activities of student run groups and discussions, discussions run by MCS faculty, or any activity that you find enriching to your professional development as a physician. Examples are participating in student chorus, attending the Donor Recognition Ceremony, student organized cultural events, or anything at all you judge to be beneficial.

For each session you will keep a written reflection which you upload to your section faculty via ePortfolio. The series of three must be completed by last day of class in May of your first academic year. Faculty will also use these reflections to provide additional comments on your interest in Ethics and Humanities as part of your MCS evaluation.

Obtaining Credit for ILO’s completed

Follow these three steps:

1. Attend the event
2. Within one week write your reflection
3. Upload it to your small group faculty on ePortfolio. Be sure to identify your upload using the subject ILO 1, ILO 2, or ILO3 and to put your full name at the top of the first page of the reflection

Reflection Paper Guidelines

• Your reflection should be a single page.
• Begin by describing the event, including the topic, date, and presenter. Remember that your faculty mentor may not have been at the event.
• The main part of the reflection should deal with your reaction to the experience, its relevance to you as a physician, and its connection to humanities and ethics.

How to find qualifying events from the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics

We will regularly send out e-mail invitations to upcoming events. You can also find a full schedule of upcoming events on the Center Events website.

Find upcoming events from the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics

Community Service as an ILO

In MCS it is possible to complete 1 ILO by participating in a community service activity which meets the following criteria.