Offices of Medical Student Education: Policy on Foundation Phase Committee Structure and Function

Unit Policy

Title

Offices of Medical Student Education: Policy on Foundation Phase Committee Structure and Function

Introduction

Purpose

This Policy establishes the charge, composition, and voting privileges of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("University") School of Medicine ("SOM") Medical Doctorate ("MD") degree program's ("Program") Foundation Phase Committee ("FPC").

Scope

This Policy is applicable to Program faculty, staff and Phase Committee and Education Committee members responsible for and participating in review and evaluation initiatives for the Foundation Phase.

Policy

Policy Statement

The charge of the FPC is to monitor, evaluate, and modify operations and policies for the Foundation Phase to achieve Program competencies. The Director of the Foundation Phase is responsible for ensuring the seamless conduct of the FPC's administrative functions.

General Requirements

A Quorum must be present (i.e., in attendance either in-person or virtually) at an FPC meeting in order for the FPC to conduct committee business (e.g., votes on particular issues, etc.). If an FPC member holds two (2) positions on the committee with voting privileges, the FPC member can only vote once on a given issue.

Membership and Composition

The FPC shall be comprised of the following members:

Voting Members (n = Number of Members)

  • Phase Director (n = 1)
  • Course Co-Directors (n = up to 22)
  • Coil Directors (n = 10)
  • Student Representatives (n = 2 SOM Student Government Foundation Phase Officers)
  • Medical Sciences Directors (n = 2)

Ex-Officio, Non-Voting Members

  • Senior Associate Dean for Medical Student Education
  • Associate and Assistant Deans for Curriculum
  • Associate and Assistant Deans for Student Affairs
  • Associate Dean for Admissions
  • Senior Director of Student Affairs
  • Senior Director of Curricular Affairs
  • Director of the Simulation, Experiential Learning, and Training (SET) Center
  • Departmental Educational Leads
  • Course Coordinators
  • Application Phase Director
  • Individualization Phase Director

Definitions

Phase Committees: The three (3) standing curricular committees that represent the three phases of the TEC curriculum – Foundation Phase, Application Phase, and Individualization Phase, all of which report directly to the Education Committee.

Quorum: For the purposes of this Policy, a Quorum (i) is defined as fifty percent (50%) of the FPC members plus one (1) additional member and (ii) must include all voting members of the FPC or their designees.

Foundation Phase: The first eighteen (18) months of the Program’s curriculum comprised of:  

  • Nine (9) Medical Science courses (three per semester)  
  • Three (3) semesters of Patient Centered Care (PCC)  
  • Three (3) semesters of Social and Health Systems (SHS)  

Related Requirements

External Regulations

Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Functions and Standards of a Medical School 

  • LCME 2.6: Functional Integration of Faculty
  • LCME 4.6: Responsibilities of Education Program Policies

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Name: Heather Tarantino, Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs

Email: Heather_tarantino@med.unc.edu

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