School-wide Announcements

Updates by Year

General Updates

• Summer programs: UCLA has transitioned all campus summer learning activities to remote formats. This decision includes medical school pipeline and pre-matriculation programs, as well as short-term training (STTP) and related programs. We will have more detailed updates in the coming weeks.
• Clerkship activities will remain remote: We are continuing to meet with the Clerkship Chairs regularly to check in and discuss best practices and modifications to the remote learning environment. In addition, we are liaising with our clinical affiliate hospital leadership to assess the state of COVID-19 at those hospitals and health systems.
• Graduation/HOC: Live Stream here at 3 PM (PDT) on Friday May 29, 2020.

Exam Updates

Musculoskeletal (MSK) assessment:

After reflection, we have decided that we will not be conducting the “virtual” OSCE. We have concluded that the planned “virtual” OSCE, in which students would perform on a partner an observed portion of the MSK via Zoom, is not an appropriate approach under the current circumstances. Reasons for this change include the potential to inadvertently breach social distancing recommendations, as well as the suboptimal nature of remote versus live demonstration of the psychomotor skills of the MSK exam. Instead we will conduct the following activities:

• Video review assessment: All students will conduct a video review of a component of the MSK, using videos similar to those you have viewed during the Block. In this assessment, the student will be asked to identify the correct technique of the MSK maneuver. This new assessment, which will occur next week, is under development, and details will follow very soon. Successful completion of this assessment, along with the other portions of Block 4 assessments, will constitute passing Block 4. 
• Clinical skills “mini-course:” We will be developing and scheduling a new curricular activity (“mini course”) that will be conducted in your MS2 year that will include comprehensive instruction and assessment of physical exam skills, including MSK. This will be needed to assure that any clinical skills instruction or assessment that occurs during these COVID-impacted blocks can be revisited at a later time. Details on the content and schedule for the new curricular activity are under development and will be announced as details are worked out. Of the many factors considered will be the duration of mandatory “stay at home” orders, the nature of the pandemic, and the clinical skills components that are missed as a result. 

Anatomy Exam

Will be taken on Gryphon using Safe Exam Browser. Educational Technology Services (ETS) has confirmed that the load time for the exam will not be an issue. In addition we will be utilizing the “all questions on one page” feature so you will not have to load every question.

First Year Students: MS1

We continue to monitor the dynamic COVID-19 pandemic regarding when we will be able to resume on-campus instruction. At this time, we are making preparations to deliver the curriculum on campus and in-person starting with Block 6: Foundations of Medicine II beginning on August 3, 2020. About one month in advance of this date, we’ll make a decision about whether this will still be possible, or if we’ll be starting the academic year with remote learning activities.

Second Year Students: MS2

Welcome to your third year! You have reached a very exciting part of your medical school curriculum and the entire curriculum team for Transition to Clerkships course welcomes you! Should you have questions about the course, please do not hesitate to reach out to ttc@mednet.ucla.edu.

MyCourses Scheduling Updates

We are working diligently to update your schedules in MyCourses to be reflective of the remote clerkships starting on 5/18. We thank you for your continued patience as we update schedules for every student.

Third Year Students: MS3

Off-cycle Student Scheduling

We are actively working on a plan to address off-cycle student scheduling and look forward to providing you with updated schedules in MyCourses shortly.

NBME Shelf Exams

• The Ambulatory Care shelf exam is still not available to take remotely. We will be in touch as soon as we receive further updates from the NBME.

• If you have questions regarding additional NBME shelf exam scheduling please reach out to the Student Affairs Office at DGSOMSAO@mednet.ucla.edu.

• NBME Shelf Exam Grades for Credit/No Credit Clerkships: We continue to await guidance from the AAMC on the recommended format for this year’s MSPE to inform its format to guide how the shelf exam scores will be reflected for Clerkships that are graded Credit/No Credit. We will continue to share updates with you in the as we have them.

We are planning another town hall for your class. We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you at an upcoming town hall (date is pending). In the interim Please continue to share your questions with us via Qualtrics.

Fourth Year Students: MS4

Required PPE E-Learnings

Thank you for joining us last Friday for Dr. Vijayan’s lecture and discussion! We request that each of you complete this learning module in Gryphon before Friday, May 29, 2020. You can also access the modules by logging into Gryphon and selecting “My Exams” on the left side of the screen and then selecting PPE E-learning.

Graduation Questionnaire Reminder

Reaching out again to request that you please complete your Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) from the AAMC.

Commencement Update

We look forward to celebrating you and your accomplishments in the Hippocratic Oath Ceremony on May 29. There is a large committee working on details for a compelling and exciting Virtual Commencement. Please be sure to submit your videos and photos to personalize your moment by this Friday, May 8th. You should have received your personal Qualtrics link last Friday, and will receive additional reminders throughout this week. Please email Brandon if you have any questions, bsusselman@mednet.ucla.edu.

LOA Students 

Addressing scheduling concerns for students returning from leaves of absence continues to be a priority. Please stay tuned for more details. Specifics will follow soon, and of course we continue to work with individual students on your unique circumstances.