University of Calgary
Clinical Neurosciences
Undergraduate Education in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences
Medical students are taught about the neurosciences in the first course of the second year of the undergraduate curriculum. Provided over an eight-week period at the beginning of the second year (in the three-year curriculum), the neurosciences component is combined with content from geriatrics, otolaryngology and ophthalmology. The course, titled, ‘Course V – Neurosciences, Aging and Special Senses,’ is given under the auspices of the Undergraduate Medical Education office of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
The neurosciences content in the course begins with a presentation of the functional anatomy and physiology required to approach patients who present with neurological complaints. The remainder of the content covers clinical presentations of neurological illness as well as sessions devoted to specific neurological conditions. Taught by approximately 130 teachers - including 60 from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences – course content is delivered via a combination of lectures, patient presentations, small group seminars and bedside teaching sessions.
The course is developed and administered by the Course V Committee, co-chaired by Dr. Kevin Busche from the Division of Neurology. The majority of the committee members are from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Students have consistently ranked the neurosciences component highly in comparison to the other courses offered in the pre-clerkship curriculum.
| Course V Committee 2011 | |
| Kevin Busche (Co-Chair) | Walter Hader |
| Darren Burback (Co-Chair) | James Scott |
| David Patry (Evaluations Coordinator) | Colin Powell |
| Jeff Joseph | Chandrasekaran Sivakumar |
| Paolo Federico | Karin Verstraten |
| Sarah Furtado | Vivian Hill |
| Gary Klein | Beth Lange |
| Cory Toth | Daryl Wile |
| Janel Nadeau | Tim Ramo |
Training the clinician scientist - combining research and undergraduate medical education
Sarah Walsh, MD/PhD student, Leaders in Medicine Program, University of Calgary.Now in her third year of medical school at the University of Calgary, Sarah is part of the new generation of scientists focused on this translational model in education -- finding that perfect balance between research and clinical care.
