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ACADEMIC PROGRAM
"The Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest Problem-Based Learning Curriculum"
Click here to download the Patient-Centered Learning Program in Adobe pdf format.
For nineteen years after its founding in 1972, Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest offered a traditional 1st and 2nd year medical curriculum. Beginning with the 1989-1990 academic year, the Northwest Campus introduced an innovative curriculum with heavy emphasis on problem solving and active learning. The highlights of this new curriculum include: (A) problem-based learning (PBL) sessions, where small groups of 6-7 students meet three times a week for two hours to discuss and analyze medical cases in the presence of a faculty moderator. During these student-directed PBL sessions, students set learning objectives, generate and test hypotheses, share learned information, and apply knowledge of basic science principles to clinical situations. (B) small numbers of lectures presented by experienced faculty supplement the PBL sessions by providing helpful overviews of key concepts ; (C) organization of the first and second year curricula into 7 sequential "Steps" or units; this approach allows students to concentrate all of their studies to one subject at a time; (D) basic science laboratories in Gross Anatomy, Histology, Neuroscience, and Pathology provide active-learning experiences that reinforce and expand the knowledge base attained during PBL sessions and lectures , and (E) PBL sessions, lectures and laboratories end by noon each day, allowing ample time for independent study and one or more afternoons per week for clinical curricular activities (see below). In 2009, IUSM-NW began to offer all third year clerkships to students. Currently we have three former second year students taking their third year clerkships in Northwest Indiana.
The 7 Steps of the IUSM-Northwest PBL curriculum are:
1st Year
Step 1The Molecular Basis of Medicine (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology) 6 weeks.
Step 2 Human Structure (Gross Anatomy, Histology, Cell Biology) 12 weeks. This Step is divided into a three week block of Histology and Cell biology and a nine week block of Gross Anatomy.
Step 3 Systemic Function and Drug Action (Physiology) 6 weeks
Step 4 Neural Control and Disease (Neuroscience) 6 weeks
Step 5 Medications and Disease (Pharmacology) 6 weeks
2nd Year
Step 6 Invasion and Defense (General Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology) 11 weeks
Step 7 Pathophysiology and Advanced Problem Solving (Introduction to
Medicine, Systemic Pathology, Advanced Doctor/Patient Relationship) 24 weeks
Biostatistics for Medical Students
6 Weeks / 10 Hours / 1 Credit
Doctor Patient Relationship
140 hours / 5 Credits Dispersed throughout the first two years.
Please note that all Steps have their own Angel Learning Site which contains classroom session outlines, lab manuals (where applicable), and other information about the Step. Some Steps also use the Angel Learning Site for testing. In addition, starting in 2009, all steps are audio/screen recording classroom presentations and converting these to MP4 podcast files which are uploaded to an Oncourse Project Site. These podcast are downloadable so that students can review classroom presentations on their own time. Many of our Steps also use a Classrom Performance System (clickers) for conducting classroom quizzes for students to assess their mastery of the material.
Each Step forms a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) committee made up of stutents. These committees prepare a CQI evaluation form using Survey Monkey ,adminsters the survey to the students in that Step, compiles and analyzes the results of the evaluation and then presents the results to the faculty in that step. The rules for CQI are that if you have a complaint about something during the Step, you must suggest a way to correct or improve what you perceive is not working correctly. CQI has helped the faculty at IUSM-NW over the last 10 years to improve the Steps.
To facilitate self-directed study, students have 24-hour access to the Steven C. Beering Medical Library, which houses an extensive series of periodicals, textbooks, and other reference materials. A professional librarian and assistant are available to help students locate the latest in medical information to aid their studies. The library complex has 10 comfortable study rooms for students and a lounge area for reading journals or medical literature. The Northwest campus is the only regional campus in the School of Medicine that maintains a large medical library and student study center of this nature.
An important part of the IUSM-Northwest PBL curriculum is the Doctor/Patient Relationship course. This course is presented as a series of inter-related sessions over the course of two years and includes such topics as Behavioral Sciences, Medical Ethics, and History Taking and Physical Diagnosis. Experienced faculty preceptors instruct students in the fundamentals of doctor/patient interactions, patient interviewing, and many other aspects of primary care ambulatory medical practice. To facilitate the Doctor/Patient Relationship course, the Northwest campus maintains for the exclusive use of its students a state-of-the-art History and Physical Learning Center, which houses 6 private, examination rooms and an administrative office. The H&P Learning Center uses standardized patients (SPs) to create realistic patient simulations. SPs are individuals trained to present a patient's history and physical examination findings in a "standardized" manner, and to evaluate the clinical and interpersonal skills of the medical student examiners. Instruction in H&P skills at IUSM-Northwest is offered during the first year of medical school (all other programs at IUSM teach these skills in the second year); thus, our students are uniquely prepared to apply their H&P skills to clinical experiences between the first and second years (summer externships.
Another important and unique element of the IUSM-Northwest Doctor/Patient course is the Student Health Care Team project (formely the Chronic Patient Program). This program is run in conjuction with the School of Nursing and the Division of Social Work of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) of Indiana University Northwest. In the second semester of the freshman year, a medical student is paired with a third year nursing student and a graduate Social Work student to form a student health care team. The team is assigned a patient from a local Assisted Living/Nursing Home and visits the patient (first as a team then individually. Students meet periodically during the next year and a half and compare notes and learn to work as a team and learn the roles and responsibilities of each team member. Medical students present a medical history of their patient in the second semester of their first year, a physical exam of during the first semester of the second year, and the entire team makes a presentation of their patient to a goup of their peers and faculty of the CHHS. In 2009, CHHS also introduced the TeamSTEPPS program which is a program designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Department of Defense to enhance health care team performance and patient safety. This program has provided our students multiple opportunities to practice H&P skills on a real patient and offers a unique opportunity to develop a special relationship with a patient for a two-year period. Some students become like family members, attending birthday parties, visits to the doctor, attending surgeries. Through these interactions, each student learns about the humanistic side of medicine, and gains knowledge of patient social, financial, cultural and spiritual matters that may influence medical care and patient management. Most importantly, students learn to work together as a medical team, to respect the role of each team member and undertand the unique skills and knowledge that each brings to the team to improve patient outcomes and increase patient safety.
The Northwest Campus has been a leader in the implementation of the IUSM Competency-Based Curriculum with all courses and all faculty participating in competency training and assessment. The goal of the Competency Curriculum is to develop and graduate physicians with characteristics that represent the highest aspirations of the profession. We expect our students to strive for the qualities of altruism, honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility, accountability and excellence, and upon graduation to pursue their work as a virtuous activity and a moral undertaking. In other words our goal for our students is to become virtuous physicians. At IUSM-Northwest, the small student to faculty ratio, 3-times-per week small group PBL sessions, and H&P training with SPs< allow multiple opportunities to teach competencies and to provide fair evaluations, feedback and timely help if skills need improvement.
A limited number of Northwest Indiana scholarships are available for eligible students attending the Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. Inquiries should be made to Dr. Bankston.
A small number of research-oriented medical students are chosen each year to participate in the Summer Research Fellowship Program. Students in this program are awarded a stipend to work on biomedical research projects under the supervision of a campus faculty member in the summer between the first and second year.
Medical students at IUSM-Northwest are also welcome and encouraged to attend any of the numerous educational programs hosted by the Northwest campus, including, (a) our annual Fall and Spring seminar series in basic and clinical research; (b) visiting professor lecture hour series presented by guest lecturers: (c) any of the large number of additional medical educational activities that are offered by the local hospitals.
The philosophy of the faculty and support staff toward medical students is one of helpfulness and nurture of adult learners, as student doctors learn the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes characteristic and unique to the special profession that they are entering. The faculty and support staff see themselves as partners, facilitators and resources to help students realize their goal of becoming the best doctor they can be, for their own sake and that of their future patients.
Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest is located on the Indiana University Northwest campus in the Glen Park area of the City of Gary and occupies approximately 35, 000 square feet of a new building (August 2004) on the southwest corner of the campus. The safe and attractive campus is bounded on three sides by the Little Calumet River, the well-kept residential community of Glen Park, and the Gleason Golf Course. Students have 24-hour access to the building and all of its facilities. The new building includes a student lounge with a small kitchen area and refrigerator for personal food storage and preparation. Locker rooms and showers provide students with a place to freshen up after exercise or sessions in the gross anatomy laboratory.
The current undergraduate enrollment at the I.U. Northwest campus is approximately 5,000 students. I.U. Northwest has a student union complex with gymnasium and fitness center available for medical student exercise and a cafeteria for low-priced food. Cultural activities on campus are numerous, including an IUN sponsored local drama group, the Northwest Theater, and The Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra . In addition, the numerous sports events, museums, ethnic neighborhoods, restaurants, and cultural attractions of Chicago are less than an hour from the Center. For those who prefer an escape to the out-of-doors, the Hoosier Prairie and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, in addition to numerous parks in Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties, are outstanding areas for hiking, swimming, picnics, and cross country skiing.
HOUSING - Northwest Indiana offers a variety of housing opportunities within easy driving distance of the campus. IUN is a commuter campus and, as such, has no dormitories or other student housing. However, IUSM-Northwest maintains two apartment buildings directly across from the medical building with a limited number of apartments for reasonable rent to medical students. ARRANGEMENT TO SEE THE APARTMENTS IS STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT ONLY WITH DAWN ILGENFRITZ, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCE, IUSM - NORTHWEST - Phone (219) 980-6551, E-mail dilgenfr@iun.edu. Unscheduled visits cannot be accommodated.
For additional information concerning Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest, please write or contact:
Patrick W. Bankston, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean and Director
Professor of Anatomy and Pathology
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest
3400 Broadway
Gary, Indiana 46408
Phone: (219) 980-6562
Fax: (219) 980-6566
E-mail: pbanks@iun.edu 
DIRECTIONS TO NW CENTER FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION:
From South (Indy)
Take I-65 North to I-94 West to Chicago
Take Broadway SOUTH exit (2nd Broadway exit)
Go to 2nd stoplight turn right (35th Avenue)
Next stoplight (Jefferson Street) turn right
Northwest Center (three story white building) is across from Gleason Golf Course on east side (your right)
Park in visitors parking area on North Side of Building
Enter north door and follow long hallway south to elevator
Take elevator to third floor, admin offices opposite elevator door.
From West (Chicago)
Take I94 East toward Gary
Take Broadway SOUTH exit (1st Broadway exit)
Go to 2nd stoplight turn right (35th Avenue)
Next stoplight (Jefferson Street) turn right
Northwest Center (three story white building) is across from Gleason Golf Course on east side (your right)
Park in visitors parking area on North Side of Building
Enter north door and follow long hallway south to elevator
Take elevator to third floor, admin offices opposite elevator door.
Take I-80,90 West to I-94 West
Take I-94 West to Broadway SOUTH exit (2nd Broadway exit)
Go to 2nd stoplight turn right (35th Avenue)
Next stoplight (Jefferson Street) turn right
Northwest Center (three story white building) is across from Gleason Golf Course on east side (your right)
Park in visitors parking area on North Side of Building
Enter north door and follow long hallway south to elevator
Take elevator to third floor, admin offices opposite elevator door.
