Preclinical Scheduled Time for Required Educational Activities

Policy Statement

The Emory University School of Medicine sets the guidelines for student schedules during the preclinical curriculum. This policy defines the number of hours that students have required activities in or out of class.

Reason for Policy

In order to provide students with enough time for self-directed learning and studying and to protect student well-being, this policy sets a maximum number of scheduled hours during the Foundations curriculum. This policy ensures that EUSOM meets the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) MD program accreditation requirements expressed in Element 8.8.

Policy Text

During the Foundations phase of the curriculum, the number of scheduled hours should generally be limited to a maximum of 32 per week. This includes all course-related activities, as well as time to complete required readings and other preparation for in-class activities but not self-directed study time. There may be limited exceptions to this guideline, but the average number of weekly scheduled hours over a month should not exceed 30. There may be no more than nine hours of scheduled time in a single day.

Policy Oversight

During regular reviews of each course in the Foundations phase, the Foundations Subcommittee of the Executive Curriculum Committee will review student schedules to estimate the average and maximum number of hours students need to complete required activities. The Foundations Subcommittee chair reports their findings on an annual basis to the Executive Curriculum Committee.

Definitions

Required activity – a scheduled session or activity, whether inside or outside of class, that all students are expected to complete. This includes work that must be completed to prepare for in-class sessions but does not include individual study time.

Responsibilities

Course directors must abide by this policy as well as policies around the blocks of time that are available to them in the schedule. The Foundations subcommittee totals the scheduled time and reports this back to the Executive Curriculum Committee. They provide feedback on course schedules to course directors.