Undergraduate Medical Education Core Competencies

The comprehensive medical curriculum at WVSOM facilitates the mastery of core competencies which are necessary for students to develop into caring and compassionate physicians who excel in their field.

The following reflects the knowledge and attributes expected of our students upon successful completion of the medical curriculum.

Educational Learning Outcomes

To complete the degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, the student will be able to demonstrate the following:

1. Osteopathic Principles and Practices
   Demonstrate knowledge of the osteopathic philosophy, general precepts, and principles; demonstrate the requisite skills to address patient issues and concerns; apply knowledge of somatic dysfunction diagnosis; and apply appropriate osteopathic manipulative treatment in the clinical setting.
    
2. Medical Knowledge
   Demonstrate the understanding and application of biomedical, clinical, epidemiologic, biomechanical, and social and behavioral sciences in the context of patient-centered care.
    
3. Patient Care
   Demonstrate the ability to determine and monitor the nature of a patient's concern or problem, using a patient-centered approach that is appropriate to the age of the patient, level of health literacy, and culture. He/she must be able to provide safe patient care that incorporates a strong fund of applied medical knowledge and best medical evidence, osteopathic principles and practices, sound clinical judgment, and patient and family preferences.
    
4. Interpersonal and Communication Skills
   Demonstrate the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes that facilitate accurate and efficient information gathering, empathetic rapport building and effective information giving in interactions with patients, families, and other members of health care teams.
    
5. Professionalism
   Demonstrate knowledge of the behavioral and social sciences that underpin the professionalism competency, i.e. humanistic behavior; responsiveness to the needs of patients that supersedes self-interest; accountability to patients, society, and the profession; a commitment to excellence and ongoing professional development; knowledge and application of ethical principles in practice and research; and awareness and proper attention to the issues within cultural competency.
    
6. Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
   Demonstrate the ability to describe and apply fundamental biostatistical epidemiologic concepts, clinical decision-making skills, evidence-based medicine principles and practices, fundamental information mastery skills, methods to evaluate relevance and validity of research information, and the clinical significance of research evidence.
    
7. Systems-Based Practice
   Demonstrate awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, and effectively identify system resources to maximize the health of the individual and the community or population at large.

NOTE: All the above should include knowledge and skills relevant to rural medicine and primary care, where appropriate.