I-EXPLORE Graduation Competencies
Graduates of the UC Davis School of Medicine are certified by our faculty to possess the general competencies required for supervised medical practice. These competencies fall into six domains: patient care, medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, system-based practice and life-long learning. The medical curriculum is designed to teach and assess key developmental milestones students are expected to achieve in each domain as they progress from matriculation to graduation.
| Competency | Pre-Clerkship Phase (end) | Clerkship Phase (end) | Post-Clerkship Phase (end) |
| IPCS 1: Communicate with and effectively educate patients, families, and the public across a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds | Communicate with patients, families, and members of the public of diverse backgrounds, languages and cultures, using strategies that build rapport and promote inclusion and equity. Demonstrate shared decision-making in a patient with a low complexity medical issue/concern. | Communicate with patients, families, and members of the public of diverse backgrounds, languages and cultures using strategies to build therapeutic alliances, promote inclusion and equity, and ensure understanding. Demonstrate shared decision-making in a patient with a low to moderate complexity medical issue/concern. | Communicate effectively in interpersonal and electronic communications with patients, families, and members of the public of diverse backgrounds, languages and cultures using strategies to build alliances, promote inclusion and equity, and ensure team members’ understanding. Demonstrate shared decision-making regardless of a patient’s illness complexity or concern. |
| IPCS 2: Communicate effectively with colleagues within one’s profession or specialty, other health professionals, and health-related agencies | Accurately recite clinical presentations according to a given set of rules or scripts. | Accurately recite clinical presentations and adapt communication to the context and audience. | Tailor clinical presentations and communication strategy to the professional audience, purpose, and context in all situations without prompting. |
| IPCS 3. Work effectively with others as a member of a health care team or other professional group | Incorporate understanding of one's own role and the roles of others (peers, physicians, other health professionals) into interactions in small groups and in the clinical setting. | Incorporate knowledge of one’s own role in different teams and settings and the roles of other health professionals to advance the care of individual patients. | Use the knowledge of one’s own role in different teams and settings and the roles of other health professionals to assess and address the healthcare needs of patients and populations. |
| IPCS 4. Maintain comprehensive, timely, and understandable medical records | Document an accurate and organized clinical note. | Document an accurate, complete, and organized clinical note in a timely manner. | Document an accurate, complete, organized, and concise clinical note in a timely manner. |
| IPCS 5. Demonstrate understanding of emotions and human responses to emotions that allow one to develop and manage interpersonal interactions | Demonstrate awareness of one’s own and others’ emotional and behavioral cues. | Anticipate, interpret and respond professionally to one's own and other peoples’ emotions across all but the most challenging scenarios, (such as those involving end-of-life issues, adverse events, bad news etc.). Verbalize lessons learned from new or unexpected emotional experiences. | Anticipate, interpret and respond professionally to one's own and other peoples’ emotions across all scenarios, to gain and maintain therapeutic alliances with others. Critically reflect on new or unexpected emotional experiences for self growth. |
| Competency | Pre-Clerkship Phase (end) | Clerkship Phase (end) | Post-Clerkship Phase (end) |
| K1. Demonstrate an investigatory and analytic approach to clinical situations. | Ask background focused clinical questions, based on gaps in knowledge, acquire answers using scientific resources and apply the answers to patient care. | Ask foreground clinical questions, acquire answers, appraise answers and appropriately apply the answers to the care of patients. | Reflect on and assess own practice of evidence based medicine with a view to self-growth. |
| K2. Apply established and emerging biomedical scientific principles fundamental to health care for patients and populations. | Maintain current knowledge necessary for patient care that addresses the maintenance of human health and the etiology, pathogenesis, and manifestations of medical problems. | Maintain current knowledge necessary for patient care that addresses the maintenance of human health and the etiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, treatment, and management of medical problems. | Maintain current knowledge necessary for the preventive care, diagnosis, treatment, and management of medical problems. |
| K3. Apply established and emerging principles of clinical sciences to diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making, clinical problem-solving, and other aspects of evidence-based health care. | Reason through low complexity clinical scenarios by applying knowledge of pathophysiology. | Solve common clinical problems (as specified in course/clerkship objectives) using a systematic approach and scientific evidence. | Design treatment plans in a wide variety of patient scenarios and defend diagnostic and therapeutic choices using scientific principles and evidence based practices. |
| K4: Contribute to the creation, dissemination, application, and translation of new health care knowledge and practices. | Demonstrate curiosity, objectivity, and a recognition of the limits of medical science in acquisition of knowledge. | Apply an inquiry-oriented and analytic approach to learning, while recognizing the limits of medical science. | Through an inquiry-oriented approach, contribute to the generation and application of new knowledge and innovation. |
| Competency | Pre-Clerkship Phase (end) | Clerkship Phase (end) | Post-Clerkship Phase (end) |
| LL1: Identify strengths, deficiencies and limits in one’s own knowledge. | Accept feedback and guidance for self-improvement. Engage in reflection to identify strengths and gaps in knowledge. | Actively solicit feedback and guidance for self-improvement. Engage in critical reflection to identify strengths and gaps in knowledge. | Reflect on and reconcile conflicting performance data and feedback from multiple sources and from complex and ill-defined situations. Incorporate into habitual practice, data gathering and critical reflection to identify strengths and gaps in knowledge. |
| LL2: Set learning and improvement goals. | Follow collaboratively developed learning goals that are based on performance data. | Independently set simple learning goals and employ a collaborative process for more complex/challenging goals. | Independently set learning goals and modify them as appropriate based on new data. |
| LL3: Identify and perform learning activities that address one’s gaps in knowledge, skills and attitudes. | Engage in learning activities, identified through an externally guided process, to address gaps in knowledge, skills and attitudes. | Engage in learning activities, which are self-identified with some guidance, to address gaps in knowledge, skills and attitudes. | Engage in and adapt self-identified learning activities, to address ongoing gaps in knowledge, skills and attitudes. |
| LL4: Continually identify, analyze and implement new and updated knowledge, guidelines, standards, technologies, products or services that have been demonstrated to improve outcomes. | Seek out, with guidance, new and updated knowledge, guidelines, products and/or services that are available for the care of patients. | Seek out, appraise and apply, with guidance, new and updated knowledge, guidelines, products and/or services that are available for the care of patients. | Seek out, appraise and implement new and updated knowledge, guidelines, products and/or services that are available for the care of patients and communities. |
| LL5: Demonstrate commitment towards professional identity formation. | Demonstrate awareness of and reflect on one's professional identity formation as a physician. | Demonstrate ongoing reflection and learning about one's own professional identity formation. | Demonstrate ongoing commitment to one's own professional identity formation as a physician accountable to patients, society, and the profession. |
| Competency | Pre-Clerkship Phase (end) | Clerkship Phase (end) | Post-Clerkship Phase (end) |
| PC1: Obtain an accurate and hypothesis-driven history. | Obtain a complete, problem-focused history from a patient with a low complexity medical issue/concern. | Obtain a complete, efficient and hypothesis-driven history from a patient and from collateral sources, for a patient with a low to moderate complexity medical issue/concern. | Obtain a complete, efficient and hypothesis-driven history from a patient and from collateral sources, regardless of illness complexity. |
| PC2: Perform an accurate and hypothesis-driven physical exam. | Perform an accurate and problem-focused physical exam on a patient with a low complexity medical issue/concern. | Perform an accurate, efficient, and hypothesis-driven physical exam on a patient with a low to moderate complexity medical issue/concern. | Perform an accurate, efficient, and hypothesis-driven physical exam on a patient, regardless of illness complexity. |
| PC3: Synthesize pertinent patient information to develop problem lists and differential diagnoses. | Construct problem lists and differential diagnosis in a patient with a low complexity medical issue/concern. | Construct hypothesis-driven problem lists and differential diagnoses in a patient with a low to moderate complexity medical issue/concern. | Construct hypothesis driven problem lists and differential diagnoses regardless of illness complexity. |
| PC4: Develop and refine management plans. | Propose an appropriate initial management plan for a patient with a low complexity medical issue/concern. | Propose an appropriate initial management plan for a patient with a low to moderate complexity medical issue/concern and recognize the need to monitor and modify the plan as new data emerge. | Propose an appropriate initial management plan for a patient, regardless of illness complexity and recognize the need to monitor and modify the plan as new data emerge. |
| PC5: Interpret common diagnostic and screening tests. | Utilize performance characteristics of tests in interpreting results in a patient with a low complexity medical issue/concern. | Utilize performance characteristics of tests in interpreting results in a patient with a low to moderate complexity medical issue/concern. | Utilize performance characteristics of tests in interpreting results in a patient regardless of illness complexity. |
| PC6: Perform procedures considered essential to the practice of medicine. | Practice basic principles of universal precautions in all settings. | Observe, assist and perform procedures and skills as outlined in course/clerkship objectives, following universal precautions and sterile technique. | Perform common procedures safely and correctly, including participating in obtaining informed consent, following universal precautions and sterile technique and attending to patient comfort. |
| Competency | Pre-Clerkship Phase (end) | Clerkship Phase (end) | Post-Clerkship Phase (end) |
| P1: Demonstrate empathy and integrity. | Demonstrate empathy and integrity in interactions with others (peers, staff, faculty and patients). | Demonstrate empathy and integrity in interactions with others even when challenged by stressful situations and when others’ perspectives differ from accepted or one’s own standards. | Demonstrate empathy and integrity in interactions with others even when challenged by stressful situations and when others’ perspectives differ from accepted or one’s own standards. |
| P2: Demonstrate responsiveness to patient needs that supersedes self-interest. | Develop strategies to address challenges that might arise when one’s needs appear in conflict with those of others. | Demonstrate how to balance the needs of others with own needs. | Demonstrate ability to anticipate when others’ needs should be prioritized over own needs. |
| P3: Demonstrate accountability towards patients and society. | Develop strategies to address the health and well-being of patients. | Demonstrate responsiveness to the needs of patients. | Demonstrate commitment to improve the health and well-being of communities. |
| P4: Demonstrate cultural humility . | Demonstrate respect towards others irrespective of race-ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, religion, disabilities or socioeconomic status. | Develop therapeutic relationships with others irrespective of race-ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, religion, disabilities or socioeconomic status. | Demonstrate cultural humility in forming therapeutic relationships, acknowledging the inability to completely know others’ values, beliefs and culture, and a genuine curiosity to learn from them. |
| P5: Demonstrate self-compassion. | Recognize one's stress and respond appropriately, including using resources to promote wellness and maintain professional behavior. | Practice strategies to promote wellness in the midst of increasing professional responsibilities and seek help when in need. | Demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms to respond to stress, including using resources to promote wellness and maintain professional behavior. |
| P6: Recognize that ambiguity is part of clinical health care and respond by utilizing appropriate resources in dealing with uncertainty. | Recognize and develop strategies to address ambiguity inherent in patient care. | Accept and seek help in dealing with ambiguity during patient care activities. | Demonstrate comfort in accepting ambiguity during patient care and in using resources to address that. |
| P7: Demonstrate commitment to uphold ethical principles and medico-legal aspects of the profession. | Practice ethically with a commitment to maintaining patient confidentiality, responding to medical errors, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and using electronic communications, including social media, appropriately. | Practice ethically with a commitment to maintaining patient confidentiality, responding to medical errors, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and using electronic communications, including social media, appropriately. | Practice ethically with a commitment to maintaining patient confidentiality, responding to medical errors, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and using electronic communications, including social media, appropriately. |
| P8: Contribute in teaching others (patients, families, students, trainees, peers and other health professionals). | Actively participate in contributing to the education of peers during educational activities. | Actively participate in contributing to the education of peers, patients, families and other health care professionals during educational and patient care activities. | Lead efforts to educate peers, other students, patients, families and other health care professionals during educational and patient care activities. |
| Competency | Pre-Clerkship Phase (end) | Clerkship Phase (end) | Post-Clerkship Phase (end) |
| SBP1: Participate effectively in the multidisciplinary health care team and facilitate patient care within and between health care organizations. | Contribute to a clinical team in coordinating patient care within the healthcare system. | Apply knowledge of the healthcare system to coordinate patient care within and across healthcare systems. | Collaborate to coordinate patient care within and across healthcare systems, including patient hand-offs. |
| SBP2: Apply knowledge of the key structures of health care finance, organization and delivery, and how they influence the care of individuals and populations. | Demonstrate understanding of how health care is organized, financed and delivered at the regional and national level and how these factors affect access to and quality of health care. | Demonstrate understanding of how health care is organized, financed and delivered at the regional and national level and apply this understanding to improve patient health. | Apply understanding of factors affecting health care delivery, including structural inequalities in access to and quality of health care, to improve the health of patients and communities. |
| SBP3: Apply understanding of social determinants of health to patient care. | Apply understanding of social determinants of health to assess strategies for disease prevention and health promotion at the patient and population level. | Apply understanding of social determinants of health for disease prevention and health promotion in the care of individual patients. | Apply understanding of social determinants of health for disease prevention and health promotion in the care of patients and populations . |
| SBP4: Incorporate principles of high value care in decisions about patients and populations. | Demonstrate understanding of key drivers of the cost crisis in health care and strategies to address this. | Demonstrate use of appropriate evidence, guidelines and tools to support cost- effective medical decision-making in patient care. | Participate in provision of cost-effective, high-value clinical care, using appropriate tools and information technologies to support decision-making in patients and populations. |
| SBP5: Describe the principles of quality improvement, and apply them to improve health care delivery, systems or policy. | Demonstrate knowledge of patient safety strategies and contribute to a culture of safety. | Identify risks to patient safety and apply strategies to deliver safe patient care. | Participate in a systematic approach to promote patient safety. |
UC Davis School of Medicine Competencies, updated July 2020
*This core set of competencies has been organized based off the Association of American Medical College’s Physicians Competency Reference Set