This approach to learning is similar to those developed in other medical schools including McMaster, Harvard, Sherbrooke, and the University of New Mexico, among others. The purpose of these programs is to help students to acquire the appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values which will prepare you for a professional lifetime in Medicine. The curriculum recognizes that no one individual can know everything for the practice of Medicine, and also that knowledge is continually changing. Medicine is also changing, as the importance on promotion of health and prevention grows.
Students acquire a relevant knowledge base that is retrievable and usable in future settings.
Students are randomly assigned into groups of seven or eight, with a faculty member appointed as a tutor. At the end of each unit, the groups are reassigned. The tutor may not be an authority on the cases, but is there to guide the group's learning, in much the same way a skilled chairperson runs a meeting. In this role, the tutor will not act as an expert resource person, as this responsibility is filled by other faculty members. However, the tutor is instrumental in providing feedback to students on various aspects of their learning in the group.