Design and Development of the New Preclinical Practice Skills (CPS) Program at the University of Geneva

Abstract

In the Fall of 1995, the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine has started a new integrated Problem-Based Learning curriculum which spans from the second to the fifth year of the six-year curriculum. A new Preclinical Practical Skills (CPS) program runs parallel to 16 problem-based learning (PBL) units from the 2nd to the 4th year. The objectives of the CPS program are to prepare the students with basic clinical skills and competencies necessary before entering the clinical clerkships in the fourth year, as well as other skills necessary to the practice of medicine. This paper provides a description of the content of the CPS program. It describes the working structure implemented to develop the program with the objectives to ensure a progressive acquisition of the various competencies and to emphasize a vertical integration with the problems of the PBL units. Appraisal after the first year of implementation and perspectives for the future are discussed.