Trinity School of Medicine is dedicated to creating new, higher standards in the quality and efficacy of its curriculum. The reasons for this are twofold: first, better doctors do more good, and second, we want to give our students the opportunity to become those better doctors. Our philosophy manifests in a number of ways throughout the school, from research in medical pedagogy to exciting announcements like this:
Effective Monday, May 9th, Trinity’s ILP was adjusted to reflect a more finely balanced distribution of courses to have a greater impact on long-term student success.
Trinity’s new ILP folds students in with their standard track colleagues at term 3. You can click the image to be taken to an informational page and contact form or keep reading below to learn more.
What is the ILP?
The Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) is, in the words of a former faculty member and current associate director of admissions, Dr. Guinevere Bell, “a program launched in 2013 to help (a segment of) students adapt to the rigor of medical school. ILP students take a reduced course load in the beginning, giving them a bit more time to adjust, but still allowing them to complete their MD degree in 4 years.”
Our students tend to agree.
The program is incredibly effective. Since its inception, both the short and long-term outcomes for ILP students are remarkable. ILP students have been consistently at the top of their class and their USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores are on par with their counterparts in the US and Canada.
So, why change it?
Much like our students, we’re never satisfied. We want excellent outcomes to not be a goal but a new standard of what we expect from ourselves. After two years of student feedback and data gathering, there was an opportunity to refine, and under the stewardship of Dr. Bell, Dr. Jack, Dr. Adkison, and Dr. Skelton, Trinity seized that opportunity.
In the bigger picture, according to the AAMC, a reality of medical schools, all medical schools, is student attrition is highest in the first year. While we carefully select our applicants for admission and do not admit anyone to the program we do not fully expect to succeed not just in school but as a physician, we still lose students (as a point of pride, we have one of the lowest attrition rates in the Caribbean, a fraction of some of the bigger name schools). The 60-second presentation below illustrates the changes and the context succinctly.
Our current ILP went a long way to minimizing first year attrition. By expanding it and further optimizing the schedule of that first year for participating students, we better address this universal issue. This is also Trinity’s solution to the arguably predatory prep programs out there that accept tuition payments from under-qualified students, let them wash out, and leave them out of their graduation numbers, match rate, etc. Our ILP students are fully enrolled, matriculated medical students. The success of our reputation in the academic community is directly tied to each and every student we welcome to our campus.
Trinity School of Medicine Standard MD Track
Term 1Anatomy I Biochemistry I Physiology I Early Human Development ICCM I
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Term 2Anatomy II Histology Embryology Biochemistry II Physiology II Neuroscience ICCM II |
Trinity School of Medicine Individualized Learning Plan Track
ILP Term 1Anatomy I Biochemistry I Early Human Development
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ILP Term 2Physiology I Biochemistry II Histology ICCM I
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ILP Term 3Physiology II Anatomy II Neuroscience Embryology ICCM II |
As we mentioned, participants earn full credit for their work, they are fully enrolled, matriculated medical students. To that end, while we typically focus on quality over cost on posts like this, it’s worth pointing out that their tuition is essentially pro-rated to adjust to the altered schedule. As a result, even though there is an extra term, there is no additional tuition cost to our students.
If you are interested in learning more or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us today!
