This Curricular Unit is longitudinal in the fourth year of the curriculum.
Within the framework of the PRR Digital4Health Portugal – UCP project, this course unit incorporates equipment and digital environments funded by the PRR — SAM 4G, Butterfly iQ+, and the ScanLab™ module —, with the components introduced and the way they are used by students described in the Course Contents and Teaching Methodologies sections of this Syllabus.
The portfolios evolve from what the students experience in various educational and life situations, such as their learning roles and the environment and communities around them. These experiences and other aspects (such as the feedback they receive form mentors and other teachers and supervisors) offer rich opportunities for reflection and self-awareness and are the catalysts for learning using the portfolio approach, all the while homing in and developing their reflective skills from that which is around them and reflective writing skills by way of their portfolio entries.
Intended learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competences to be developed by the students)
During the master’s programme, students are also expected to take an active and increasingly self-directed approach with respect to their competency development. The portfolio and mentors play a central and crucial role in this learning process:
- The portfolio serves as a repository for all relevant information about the student’s competency development (learning plans/start documents, reflections, feedback, and assessments). The portfolio includes information on all clinical rotations, electives and participation internships of the master’s programme. Based on the information in the portfolio, the student’s competency development is followed, adjusted and assessed throughout the entire master’s programme.
- The mentor functions as a ‘result-oriented’ coach who supervises the student’s competency development and (selfdirected) learning.
- As part of the introduction of point-of-care ultrasound in the teaching of the physical examination and of digital simulation of clinical cases with virtual patients, students also develop competencies in the acquisition and interpretation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) images and in clinical reasoning, diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making through virtual-patient simulation, within the context of their clinical rotations.
Syllabus
The Portfolio for each year and its accompanying activities will align with the specific syllabi for that particular year. In year 4, the sources of reflection will come from the experiences and observations during the clinical attachments.
Each attachment will contain components on directed skills, communication, and professional behaviour, which will form an integral part of the portfolio. Students will be asked to reflect and provide feedback by submitting entries using the CanMEDS roles to guide them.
They specifically identify each role when reflecting, and include its pertinence to their future roles as physicians. They are also encouraged to reflect on other events in the learning place or within the news (e.g. refugee crises, health system changes in Portugal) that are germane to their evolution as physicians.
This reflection and feedback will be guided and encouraged by the mentor, with whom the Portfolio will be continuously discussed. As part of the PRR Digital4Health Portugal – UCP project, the following contents and digital resources were
introduced in this CU: the introduction of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the teaching of the physical examination, using the Butterfly iQ+ probe (connected to a smartphone/tablet) and the ScanLab™ educational module with artificial-intelligence-guided simulation; and the introduction of digital simulation of clinical cases with virtual patients who respond dynamically to students' decisions, through the Body Interact platform (Medicine Basic Licence), enabling training in clinical reasoning, diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making.
