Course Syllabus

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Virtual – Topics in Clinical Cases – Surgery 

MED CLIN 530 

AY 2025-2026 

Syllabus 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Course Information: 

• Title of course:     Virtual – Topics in Clinical Cases – Surgery 

• Number of credits:   2 

• Prerequisites:     Successful Completion of MED CLIN 521 - 524  
      (or permission from the Associate Dean of Curriculum) 

• Current term and year:  2025 - 2026 

Course Description 
Virtual Clinical Cases - Surgery, MED CLIN 530. This is a ten-day independent learning virtual course in surgery. The goal of the course is to complete an overview of general surgery with coverage of important issues in the major subspecialties of surgery. This course is completely self-directed. The student is responsible for working through the course following links to specific modules. Each module includes specific objectives, links to videos, case scenarios and self-assessment quizzes. The videos, case studies and quizzes were developed by the Aquifer WISE-MD as well as the American College of Surgeons and Association of Surgery Education Medical Student Core Curriculum. 

Meeting Schedule 
Clinical and education workdays and times vary according to each student’s specific schedule, referencing a maximum of 80 hours per week and clinical work period not exceeding 24 continuous hours. Policy Number: CU.08.01.170808. (https://medicine.wsu.edu/md/student-affairs/student-handbook/).  

Course instruction will be delivered at the clinical campuses (Everett, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver), in affiliated clinical learning environments, OR via virtual, online platforms. 

Instructor Information  
Note: All instructors are available for office hours by appointment – students may request office hours via email. Some faculty will post specific office hours periodically throughout the year – students will be informed via E.Flo. 

Course Director Information 

Anjali Kumar, MD, MPH  
Office hours by appointment only  
anju@wsu.edu  

Other Participating Instructors 

• Faculty in the College of Medicine 

• Currently or Formerly Licensed Health Care Professionals 

Required and/or Recommended Textbooks and Course Materials  
There are no required textbooks. Students should access any resource necessary to address their learning goals for this course. Resources, such as the ability to conduct Medline searches of current medical journals and eBooks (textbooks), are available via the Medicine Library (https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/esfcom). 

Additional course material is available on the curriculum/learning management system E.Flo MD (https://eflo.medicine.wsu.edu). 

 

Program Competency Domains and Outcomes  

Medical and Scientific Knowledge 

• Demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and social-behavioral concepts in caring for healthy, ill patients and the community.  

Patient Care and Health Promotion 

• Provide evidence-based care that is compassionate, culturally appropriate, and effective for illness prevention, health promotion, treatment of disease, and improvement in quality of life, including appropriate end-of-life care.  

Professionalism and Self Awareness  

• Demonstrate commitment to professional services, adherence to ethical principles, and awareness of one’s own interests, personal biases, vulnerabilities, and limitation of knowledge. 

Practice-Based and Life-Long Learning  

• Demonstrate the ability to appraise, assimilate, innovate, and incorporate scientific  evidence to evaluate and improve patient care practices based on continuous self-evaluation and life-long learning.  

Systems-Based and Inter-Professional Practice 

• Demonstrate awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context of health care and the ability to call on system resources, including other health care professionals, to provide optimal care.  

Interpersonal Communication Skills 

• Demonstrate effective information exchange and collaboration with patients, their families, peers, and other health professionals to enhance their care. 

 

Course Learning Objectives and Means of Assessment  

Competency Domain	Objectives	Potential Assessment Methods
Medical and Scientific Knowledge	Identify, analyze, critically appraise, and integrate relevant biomedical, social, and clinical science knowledge when caring for patients and populations, and when educating others	Exam – Institutionally Developed, Written/ Computer  Research or Project Assessment  Narrative Assessment  Self – Assessment   Peer Assessment
Patient Care and Health Promotion	Develop a prioritized differential diagnoses and management/treatment plan considering the context and values of the patient  Formulate and justify a prioritized evidence-based differential diagnosis, recommend and interpret diagnostic test results for common disorders, formulate a management and/or treatment plan, and propose medical orders and prescriptions  Manage time effectively in completing tasks, including appropriate follow-ups  Propose orders and prescriptions for discharge and ongoing care   Recommend and interpret evidence-based diagnostic investigations for patients with conditions related to the rotation	Research or Project Assessment   Research Performance Rating/Checklist  Self-Assessment  Narrative Assessment
Professionalism and Self Awareness	Develop a prioritized differential diagnoses and management/treatment plan considering the context and values of the patient  Manage time effectively in completing tasks, including appropriate follow-ups  Propose and implement health care strategies for addressing social determinants of health and equity, taking into consideration the patient's/family's cultural context, preferences, identities, goals of care, ethics, and values	Portfolio – Based Assessment  Narrative Assessment  Multisource Assessment  Participation  Peer Assessment
Practice-based and Life-long Learning	Develop learning opportunities and seek guidance in anticipation of potential knowledge gaps and to independently develop plans for continuous personal improvement	Portfolio - Based Assessment  Narrative Assessment  Multisource Assessment  Participation  Peer Assessment
Systems-based and Inter-professional Practice	Propose and implement health care strategies for addressing social determinants of health and equity, taking into consideration the patient's/family's cultural context, preferences, identities, goals of care, ethics, and values	Portfolio-based Assessment  Narrative Assessment  Multisource Assessment  Participation  Peer Assessment

Expectations for Student Effort  

This course requires a minimum of 45 hours per week of curricular work Academic Regulation 27 (https://registrar.wsu.edu/academic-regulations/), which may include clinical learning and associated self-directed or independent learning.  For clinical work hour limitations, see the Clinical and Education Work Policy (Duty Hours) Policy Number: CU.08.01.170808 (https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/3190/2023/07/Student-Clinical-and-Education-Work-Policy.pdf).  

Week-To-Week Course Outline 

Two-Week Schedule  
Week 1   
The student will be oriented to the learning environment(s), responsibilities, and performance expectations. The student will participate in learning modules specific to the specialty or course. The student will complete online assignments in a self-directed manner and will explore specific areas of interest, related to the case modules and assigned learning activities. At a minimum, students are expected to engage in learning for a total of 45 hours per week.   

Week 2  
The student will continue to participate in learning activities and complete course requirements as outlines in the course guide. The student will communicate with the course director once all assignments have been completed and will discuss end of course feedback with the course director.     

Description of Required Assignments, Assessments, and Grading Policy 
Required assignments, if any, are posted to the corresponding course learning pages on the curriculum/learning management system, E.Flo MD (https://eflo.medicine.wsu.edu). 

Any exams required for this course will either be scheduled directly with the Assessment Unit to accommodate student clinical schedules or be posted in the curriculum/learning management system calendar. E.Flo MD (http://eflo.medicine.wsu.edu). 

Grading criteria, as well as relative weighting of assignments and assessments for determining final grades, are posted to the corresponding course page in the curriculum/learning management system E.Flo MD (http://eflo.medicine.wsu.edu). 

Attendance and Make-up Policy 

Attendance Policy  

The attendance policy is explained in the Student Handbook (https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/3190/2024/08/WSUMED-Medical-Student-Attendance-Policy.pdf). Students will receive incident cards for unexcused absences. Incident cards are reviewed and tracked in the Assessment Unit. Students with recurrent unexcused absences may be referred to the Student Evaluation, Promotion, and Awards Committee (SEPAC).  

 

Make-up Exams 

Make-up exams, if applicable, are granted at the discretion of both the Course Director and the Assistant Dean for Clerkships – Assessment. Students who anticipate or experience an absence on an exam day, whether excused or unexcused, must promptly contact medicine.assessment@wsu.edu to inquire about rescheduling. 

WSU Use of AI Statement 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use only with prior permission.  

Students are not allowed to use generative artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Dall-E, etc.) to generate content that will be assessed in this course unless otherwise indicated.     

If the assignment instructions permit the use of generative artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Dall-E, etc.) and the student chooses to use those tools, it must be properly documented and credited. For example, text generated using ChatGPT-3 should include a citation such as: “Chat-GPT-3. (YYYY, Month DD of query). “Text of your query.” Generated using OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/” Material generated using other tools should follow a similar citation convention. 

Any AI use related to the clinical environment or protected health information must comply with HIPAA and the policies relevant to your clinical site. 

Academic integrity will be strongly enforced in this course. Students who violate WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy (identified in Washington Administrative Code WAC 504-26-010 (4) will receive a failing grade. Included is the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to produce content without proper attribution, which will be considered plagiarism. 

WSU Academic Integrity Statement 

Academic integrity is the cornerstone of higher education. As such, all members of the university community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. Academic integrity will be strongly enforced in this course. You are responsible for reading WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy (https://communitystandards.wsu.edu/policies-and-reporting/academic-integrity-policy/), which is based on Washington State law (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=504-26-202). If you cheat in your work in this class, you will: fail the course, will not have the option to withdraw from the course pending an appeal, and will be reported to the Student Evaluation, Promotion, and Awards Committee (SEPAC). 

 

If you wish to appeal an instructor’s decision relating to academic integrity, please contact the Student Evaluation, Promotions, and Awards Committee at medicine.SEPAC@wsu.edu. See policy SE.09.02.170808 (https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/3190/2023/08/WSUMED-Student-Promotion-Dismissal-and-Graduation-Policy.pdf) for more information. 

 

Students are responsible for reading and understanding all university-wide policies and resources pertaining to all courses provided on the University Syllabus webpage (https://syllabus.wsu.edu/university-syllabus/). For course-specific policies and resources, consult the course syllabus provided by your course instructor.