Learning Sessions

The MD Program utilizes several types of large-group learning sessions with varying degrees of interactivity.

• Course/program orientation sessions (CATEGORY 1)—An orientation session is held at the beginning of each academic year to update students on any major program updates or changes. Each course will also start with an orientation session from the Course Coordinator to provide an overview of the course schedule, activities, and assessments. Orientation sessions are mandatory to ensure that all students are aware of the requirements and expectations of each course.

• Lectures (mostly category 3)—Lectures are primarily large group didactic sessions provided by content experts. The majority of lectures will be provided in person, but a selected portion may be provided as recordings only due to the availability of some faculty/clinicians. 

  • • Lectures may include active components such as demonstrations, interactive polls/questions, or other formats at the lecturer's discretion.

    • Most lectures are recorded and uploaded to Cally for viewing by the following business day (i.e. Monday lecture available end of day Tuesday; Friday lecture available end of day Monday, etc.)

    • A few lectures are NOT recorded due to sensitive images, content, or discussion. These will be specified in Cally so that students are aware.

    • All lecture resources (slides or handouts) and recording links can be found on Cally.

• Guest speakers (CATEGORY 1)—Throughout your courses, you will have some invited guest speakers, including patients who come to share their personal experiences, community members or organizations, and guest experts or panels for discussion. These sessions are provided live and in person; attendance at all guest presentations is mandatory and tracked (see Session Categories for more information).

Several small group sessions are used in the systems courses, and longitudinal themes allow students to engage in active learning, case discussions, and other activities. These sessions also allow students to practice and develop their skills as communicators, collaborators, leaders, professionals, and more.

• Team-based learning (TBL) (CATEGORY 1)— Team-based learning small group sessions focus on applying one's knowledge, teamwork, and professionalism. 

  • • Students prepare ahead of time for a brief quiz (IRAT - individual readiness assessment test), then complete a group quiz (GRAT - group readiness assessment test) and application cases/exercises with their team.

    • The quiz answers, and cases are debriefed as a large group (whole class) with an expert facilitator at various points of the session.

    • TBLs are formal assessments within the course and, thus, are mandatory for participation. 

• Discovery Learning (DL) (CATEGORY 1)— Discovery learning sessions are where students work through simulated clinical cases with a "non-expert" faculty facilitator. 

  • • Group tutors include clinicians and non-clinician scientists, who help direct the discussion but do not provide "answers" as the case progresses.

    • The DL cases are clinical scenarios revealed over multiple sessions. Prompting questions lead students through diagnosis and management, illustrating key concepts in patient care and reinforcing learning from other sources. 

    • Some DL sessions will cover learning objectives not covered elsewhere in the course, including relevant knowledge regarding disorders that do not turn out to be the final diagnosis in a case.

    • All DL sessions are mandatory, and tutors will track attendance. The faculty tutors evaluate DL engagement based on student participation in the group discussions.

    • Students also complete peer evaluations of each other as team members, providing a forum to practice giving feedback to their peers.

• Physician Discussion Groups (PDG) (CATEGORY 1)—These sessions are a component of the Longitudinal Themes course. They focus on professionalism, ethics, social accountability, cultural competency, and more. 

  • • PDG sessions may occur outside the typical curricular schedule to allow all group members to meet with their faculty leads.

    • These sessions occur throughout the 4 years of the MD Program. 

• Case-based learning or Tutorials (CBL/CBT) (Category 2)— These sessions are usually single events but include case-based examples and discussions. 

  • • CBL groups typically involve content expert facilitators and practicing clinicians who guide students through case discussions and help them develop clinical reasoning skills.

    • Attendance is not tracked; students are responsible for all learning objectives covered in these sessions.

• Other— Other small group learning sessions are utilized throughout the systems courses and the longitudinal themes when the content is best delivered through discussion formats. 

Students have several opportunities to begin developing early experiences with direct patient encounters. The specific course pages provide more details on each.

• Preclerkship electives - Clinical and nonclinical elective experiences for students to explore different content areas and exposures.

• Patient Immersion Experience - Students are assigned to a "patient mentor" to learn about their experiences with the healthcare system, utilizing a humanities approach to reflection on these interactions.

• Longitudinal clinical experience (LCE) - Clinical half-days in local family practices for direct supervised patient encounters.

• Non-formal shadowing—Students are welcome to contact clinicians they encounter throughout pre-clerkship to request informal shadowing opportunities. Many clinicians are open to having students join them for a few hours in the clinic, on the wards, or even in the operating room (specific orientation/training is required for OR shadowing). For further questions regarding clinical shadowing, please contact the MD Program Electives Coordinator and Administrator. 

Formal self-directed learning or studying time is built into the weekly curricular schedule. This time is meant for students to complete assignments, review course content, and schedule the other required learning opportunities throughout the year.

Some courses will include take-home assignments or self-directed modules with deadlines for completion: 

• Assignments are usually found at https://assess.med.ualberta.ca/

• Modules for foundational radiology will be available at https://learnrad.med.ualberta.ca/

All students can access simulated case presentations and resources through the Aquifer platform. 

Specific course coordinators, lecturers, and other facilitators/teachers may share other self-directed learning resources. See the specific course pages for more information.