Doctor of Medicine (MD) Learning Communities
The M.D. Learning Communities (MD LCs) are groups of medical school students, facilitated by faculty mentors, that encourage the formation of valuable skills and relationships. Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) initiated the MD LC program in 2011 in response to the school’s growing class size. The purpose of the MD LCs is to discuss relevant student skills and behaviors, foster a sense of community, improve peer-to-peer relationships, and encourage relationship development between students and faculty.
These MD LCs focus on several ACGME residency competencies such as communication, professionalism, and interpersonal skills as well as other topics. Incoming medical students are divided into twelve learning communities named after school specific values and culture. LCs are longitudinal, with students continuing in these groups for all 4 years of medical school. The LC sessions are a requirement of the Fundamentals of Medicine courses each year. In this model, students lead the interactive discussions with two faculty mentors serving as facilitators.
The twelve M.D. Learning Communities are:
- Knowledge
- Wisdom
- Service
- Excellence
- Innovation
- Integrity
- Leadership
- Compassion
- Equity
- Inclusion
- Commitment
- Discovery
Topics include:
- Ethics
- Health Literacy
- Leadership
- Health Reform
- Communication Skills
- Implicit Bias
- Optimizing Personal Assets
- Conflict Management
Taking part in these learning communities will provide great benefits including:
- Learning about the the culture of the MSM community
- Building relationships with classmates
- Building relationships with faculty
- Broadening the learning experience
- Honing valuable career skills
- Tips on how to fully utilize and enjoy the educational experience