Medical School Information Page for MSPE
On September 7, 2021, the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) was renamed the UMass Chan Medical School (UMass Chan), and the School of Medicine within the UMass Chan Medical School was renamed the T.H. Chan School of Medicine.
The information included here is intended to supplement the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) that is provided for each Advanced Studies student, as part of their application to residency programs. Much of the information included here was previously noted in the Appendices and attachments to the MSPE, as recommended by AAMC in earlier guidelines. In 2016, the AAMC MSPE Task Force provided revised and updated guidelines to medical schools for the content and structure of the MSPE. One recommendation was to remove the appendices and attachments, and to instead provide a website with information regarding the school’s academic program and policies relevant to the MSPE.
The new guidelines specifically note that:
“There are two ways to transmit Medical School Information in the MSPE:
1) Loaded into ERAS as one document and attached to each MSPE or
2) Linked to from a URL included in the MSPE.
In those circumstances where the MSPE is provided outside of ERAS, it should be noted that the Medical School Information should be attached as an appendix.”
This page, and the information included here, is provided in compliance with that recommendation.
Performance in Professional Attributes (Previously Appendix C)
Graphic Representations of Comparative Performance across the UMass Chan Competencies
Medical School Information Page (Previously Appendix E):
- Specific programmatic emphases, strengths, mission(s), or goal(s) of the medical school
- Special characteristics of the Medical School's educational program
- Average length of enrollment
- Evaluation system
- Medical School requirements for completion of USMLE Steps 1 and 2
- Medical school requirements for successful completion of Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE)
- Utilization of clerkship and elective director's narrative comments in composition of the MSPE
- Medical school compliance with the AAMC "Guidelines for Medical Schools Regarding Academic Transcripts"
- Description of the process by which the MSPE is composed at the medical school
- Review of MSPE by students
Graphic Representations of Comparative Performance in Preclinical/Basic Science Coursework
Because of the value placed on a cooperative learning environment during the Basic Science years at the UMass Chan Medical School, the Educational Policy Committee of the faculty has voted to provide comparative graphs of clinical but not basic science performance.
Graphic Representations of Comparative Performance in Core Clinical Clerkships
Please see histograms of comparative performance in our seven third year core clerkships, as noted within the MSPE, for each core clinical clerkship. Unless otherwise indicated, students are compared to their peers for the academic year in which the student took most of his/ her clerkships.
Performance in Professional Attributes
The following attributes of professionalism are graded on a yes/no basis in each clinical clerkship:
Maintains a Professional Demeanor
Recognizes Limitations and When to Seek Help
Shows Respect for a Patient’s Dignity and Rights
Displays Honesty and Integrity
All professionalism components must be passed to receive a passing grade for the clerkship.
A statement on Professionalism and how behavioral issues related to professionalism are addressed at the medical school is included within the body of the MSPE. Within this section, it is noted whether the student has met our standards for professional behavior; issues that have arisen and have been successfully addressed are noted within the clerkship narratives, in context. Given the policy that all professionalism components must be passed in order to receive a passing grade for the clerkship, a student who has unresolved professionalism issues would not pass the clerkship where the issue arose, and as such would not be receiving an endorsement by the medical school to graduate and proceed to residency training.
The UMass Chan Medical School does not currently grade students on their professionalism in a way that supports comparative graphs.
Noteworthy professional development achievements are noted in the MSPE at the beginning of the academic progress section. These would typically include achievements on a regional or national level, contributing to an individual student’s professional development in the domain of academic leadership.
Graphic Representations of Comparative Performance across the UMass Chan Competencies
In 2010, the T.H. Chan School of Medicine launched its new Learner-centered Integrated Curriculum (LInC), based on a new vision and principle to guide the training of the 21st century physicians. Designed with input from more than 400 faculty and students, LInC incorporates innovations in teaching and learning as well as new national standards for medical education. The medical education program is designed to develop six foundational competencies required of all physicians: professional, scientist, communicator, clinical problem solver, patient and community advocate and person.
Grounded in these required core competencies, the T.H. Chan School of Medicine education program prepares students for their future medical careers regardless of specialty choice, while maintaining our founding commitment to prepare students for training in the primary care disciplines. Our philosophy values partnership between student and faculty in teaching and learning; respect and dignity in the physician- patient and student-learner relationship and an education milieu of collegiality, collaboration and diversity.
This “competency-driven” foundation continues to guide the ongoing development of our educational programs.
THE UMASS CHAN COMPETENCIES
Physician as Professional
Physician as Scientist
Physician as Communicator
Physician as Clinical Problem Solver
Physician as Patient & Community Advocate
Physician as Person
The detailed Competencies for Medical Education document can be found on the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education website here.
On the MSPE, a graphic representation of student performance in these competencies is provided. Student performance in each of the seven clerkships, from all evaluators, is averaged and provided in comparison to the members of the entire class who completed the clerkships in the same academic year. The specific questions on the student performance evaluations that link to these competencies are:
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Physician as |
Physician as |
Physician as |
Physician as |
Physician as |
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Family Medicine |
3 items: |
1 item: |
4 items: |
1 item: |
1 item: |
2 items: |
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Medicine |
same as above |
same as above |
same as above |
same as above |
same as above |
1 additional item: |
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Psychiatry |
2 additional items: |
1 additional item: |
same as above |
same as above |
same as above |
same as above |
The Educational Policy Committee of the UMass Chan Medical School, has voted for the use of quartiles for their graduates for the Medical Student Performance Evaluation.
The quartiles were calculated based on each student's actual final 'numeric' grades in the 7 required third year clerkships. Each student's overall average across those 7 clerkships, with Medicine and Surgery weighted 1.5x, were used to calculate quartiles for the cohort. The first (top) quartile reflected the highest 25% of student overall averages, with the second quartile: 50.1% to 75% (above the median), third quartile: between 25.1% and 50% (up to the median), and the fourth quartile the lowest 25% of student overall averages.
Quartiles are calculated by the Office of Institutional Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (IREA).
Please see histograms of our quartiles, as noted within the MSPE, based on core clinical clerkship. Unless otherwise indicated, students are compared to their peers for the academic year in which the student graduates.
Specific programmatic emphases, strengths, mission(s), or goal(s) of the medical school
The principal goal of the educational program at UMass Chan is "the training of physicians in the full range of medical disciplines with emphasis on practice in the primary care specialties, in the public sector, and in underserved areas of Massachusetts."
A Global Health Pathway, offers the opportunity for selected students to obtain additional training in working with underserved populations globally and locally, and a Rural Health Scholars Program provides more in-depth exposure to rural and small town communities. Our new Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) Track offers a focused curriculum and clinical experience in health professions to students who have a dedicated interest in working underserved settings. This Track in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine offers medical students the opportunity to learn primary and sub-specialty care of patients through the lens of population health. The inaugural cohort to the UMass Chan Baystate PURCH Track matriculated in August 2017 and will graduate with the Class of 2021. Students may participate in Optional Enrichment Electives (OEE’s) during their education, which supplement and add to their educational experience. These OEE’s are listed on the MSPE and represent additional engagement by students to explore more deeply topics and issues that are introduced in the core curriculum.
Each student in the MD program is required to complete a Capstone Scholarly Project as a requirement for graduation. The range of opportunities in which students may engage is broad, and can range from observational, exploratory, qualitative to quantitative scholarly work. Capstone projects are presented to the community in the Spring semester of the final year of medical school, at an engaging symposium. All projects are presented on Capstone day, either via poster, podium, exhibit or performance.
In lieu of or in addition to a Capstone project, students may choose to apply for entry into the Senior Scholars program. Senior Scholars is a selective program that provides an opportunity for the learner to engage in scholarly activities that dive deeply into the philosophy of research through hypothesis generation, information gathering, experimentation and critical interpretation. Projects may be developed in any field of basic science, clinical medicine, epidemiology or public health. Each student accepted to the Senior Scholars Program is required to submit a written abstract and participate in Senior Scholars presentation day, with poster presentations that are critically evaluated for methodology, content, and scientific merit. Students accepted into the Senior Scholars program may choose to have the senior scholars project fulfill the Capstone requirement, or may complete a Capstone in addition to a Senior Scholars project.
UMass Chan places significant emphasis on basic and clinical research, and includes options for participation in the following competitive programs:
1) a combined MD/PhD program,
2) a four-year Clinical and Translational Research Pathway that provides select students with an enriched curriculum in research methodology and mentored research projects, and
3) a five-year program leading to a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation.
The UMass Chan Medical School faculty has defined six competencies around which our curriculum is developed and evaluated. These core competencies are: The physician as Professional, Scientist, Communicator, Clinical Problem Solver, Patient & Community Advocate, and Person. By focusing curricular objectives on the "core competencies" required for all practitioners, the educational program strives to optimally prepare our students for their future medical careers regardless of specialty choice.
Special characteristics of the Medical School's educational program
Programmatic emphases include:
Interdisciplinary curriculum development and implementation: The first two academic years are called Foundations of Medicine 1 and 2. Lasting approximately 18 months, they integrate clinical and basic sciences across disciplines and include ethics, social sciences, behavioral science, nursing, and allied health professions. A two-year interdisciplinary course in "Doctoring and Clinical Skills" is required of all first- and second-year students. The ‘interstitial course’ combines interdisciplinary and interprofessional topic-oriented sessions and is required of third year students.
Problem solving: Using interactive large and small group teaching formats to address clinical decision analysis, critical thinking, group learning, synthesis of information, and written and oral communication skills.
Independent study and active learning: Allowing unscheduled class time to pursue active learning and independent study in a variety of areas including service learning, research, community activism, advocacy for the underserved, and international health.
Exposure to ambulatory medicine: Including ambulatory exposure in clerkship rotations and through a required longitudinal preceptorship program in years 1 and 2.
Emphasis on a cooperative rather than competitive learning atmosphere: Encouraging small group work in and outside of the formal curriculum; teamwork is promoted as a significant component of professionalism.
Use of standardized patients, simulation and other performance-based methods for teaching and assessment: Standardized patients and simulation are used for teaching and evaluation beginning in years 1and 2 in our - course sequence and continuing through individual clerkship OSCEs in each required clerkship and a comprehensive end of third year performance-based examination.
Interprofessional Learning: Required interprofessional learning experiences in the first 3 years of curriculum.
Exploration of clinical opportunities early during the educational experience: Students engage in a longitudinal preceptorship program (LPP) beginning in year 1 (FOM1), engaging with preceptors in a clinical setting. This supervised clinical exposure extends through the first two years of medical school. Additionally, during year 2 (FOM2), students engage in a Doctoring and Clinical Skills course that involves direct patient assessment, in a mentored setting with structured feedback. Finally, students all have protected time to explore clinical opportunities through Flexible Clinical Experiences during year 3 (CCE). These 4 one-week sessions, chosen by each student based on their unique needs and interests, provide opportunities for deeper exposure to clinical fields, to help inform career choice.
Average length of enrollment
Average length of enrollment is four to five years for the MD; six to eight years for the combined MD/PhD. Students are encouraged to extend their academic programs for a variety of reasons. Some examples are: our MD/PhD program, research year such as HHMI, international or research electives for >3 months, and other joint schooling such as study towards an MPH, MSCI or MBA. Including MD/PhD students, approximately 25-30% of the students take five or more years to obtain the MD degree. Extensions are for personal, health, academic or enrichment/research reasons; the most common reason for program extension is enrichment/research.
Evaluation system
The Medical School uses grades of Credit (Cr) and No Credit (NCR) for all preclinical grades.
For students who completed their clinical rotations through the 2017-2018 academic year, clinical performance is evaluated as Outstanding (O), Above Expected (AEP), Expected (EP), Below Expected (BEP), or Fail (F) together with a written commentary. Credit (CR) and Expected (EP) are considered satisfactory grades; the Medical School considers that it sets a high standard for achieving these grades.
For students who completed their clinical rotations from the 2018-2019 academic year onwards, clinical performance is evaluated as High Honors (HH), Honors (H), Pass (P), Failing (F), and Incomplete (I).
A grade of I (incomplete) is issued when the student has been granted permission to delay completion of work for a course. Any grade of NCR, BEP or F must be remediated.
Medical School requirements for completion of USMLE Steps 1 and 2
For graduation, UMass requires that students pass Step 1 and Step 2 CK. Passage of Steps 1 and 2 CK is required for submission of a residency application rank list. Passage of Step 1 is required for promotion to the clinical years, beginning with the Class of 2020.
A Note for the Class of 2022:
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic Prometric testing centers announced their closure for a period of 30 days starting March 18th, 2020. This prevented some members of the class of 2022 from starting clinical rotations as anticipated June 1st because they could not take Step 1. For this reason, the education policy committee approved exception to the previous policy specifically for students entering CCE the 2020-2021 academic year. It stated that students may enter Core Clinical Experiences (CCE) on time without taking the USMLE Step 1 by meeting any of the following criteria:
- Take a Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessment (CBSSA) and achieve an adequate score to predict passing Step 1 at least 4 weeks before start of CCE by May 3rd, 2020
- Submit a CBSSA with an adequate score to Dr. Christine Woolf, Center for Academic Achievement (CAA) by May 4th, 2020 by emailing her the official (National Board of Medical Examiners) NBME score report.
- Dr. Woolf will communicate with students after reviewing their scores regarding readiness for Step 1.
- A list of students who are ready to enter CCE will be provided to the office of student affairs (OSA) on May 6th, 2020.
Students are required to take USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) no later than December 15th of their Advanced Studies year. Failure to take the Step 2CK by the specified deadlines will result in the student’s not being permitted to continue coursework (required or elective) until the examination is taken, unless the Clinical Science Academic Evaluation Board provides approval, usually for extenuating, individual circumstances. The policy regarding the timing of the USMLE Step 2 exams was passed by the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Educational Policy Committee on September 12, 2016, and is applicable to all students graduating in the Class of 2018 and later.
Medical school requirements for successful completion of Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE)
Clerkships: OSCEs are incorporated into each clerkship and coordinated thematic section in the core clinical year; passage of these OSCEs is required for successful completion of each clerkship.
Comprehensive Core Clinical Assessment (CCCA): All students must demonstrate competence in the core clinical skills presented across all third-year clerkships by successful completion of a multi-station "CCCA" OSCE. This examination typically includes 7-8 stations including standardized patient and ‘chart’ encounters, addressing a variety of clinical skills including problem solving, history-taking, physical diagnosis, management planning, and professionalism, as well as particular communications tasks such as patient education. Students are permitted two attempts to demonstrate competence in the areas evaluated and are given additional assistance if needed.
Utilization of clerkship and elective director's narrative comments in composition of the MSPE
Clerkship and elective commentaries in the MSPE are minimally edited for length, style, grammar and consistency. Comments that do not characterize the student's general performance are not reproduced in the letter. Comments that appear in more than one clerkship or that are noted by more than one evaluator within a clerkship, including negative comments, are reported in the MSPE. All narratives are quoted in their entirety as submitted; any edits are indicated.
Medical school compliance with the AAMC "Guidelines for Medical Schools Regarding Academic Transcripts"
The UMass Chan Medical School is in compliance with all guidelines of the Association of American Medical Colleges' Group on Student Affairs Guidelines for Medical Schools Regarding Academic Transcripts.The UMass Chan Medical School is in compliance with all guidelines of the Association of American Medical Colleges' Group on Student Affairs Guidelines for Medical Schools Regarding Academic Transcripts.
Description of the process by which the MSPE is composed at the medical school
Responsibility for the MSPE is shared between the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education and the Office of Student Affairs. Information to be placed in the MSPE is compiled by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, with editorial assistance from Student Affairs staff members, and is based on all records available to that office. Student grades are obtained from the Registrar; narrative comments are provided by each of the clerkship and elective coordinators, under the oversight of the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education. Information about premedical and extracurricular activities is provided by the student. Editing, other than grammatical and stylistic editing as noted above, is the responsibility of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education.
Required clinical clerkships and electives are reported in the order in which they were taken; any clinical remediation is presented and discussed in the letter. The level of endorsement for each student is determined by an Advisory Committee of the teaching faculty after careful review of the student's entire academic and personal record.
Review of MSPE by students
Each student is permitted to review his/her MSPE and submit comments about what s/he believes to be factual or grammatical errors. Allegations of factual errors are verified before any change is made. Final decisions about the form and content of the letter, beyond those noted above, rests with the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and an Advisory Committee of the faculty.