PURCH Coursework
VISTA Curriculum
PURCH students will participate in the UMass Chan Medical School VISTA core curriculum.
The VISTA curriculum breaks the traditional 2 + 2 model of medical education and instead organizes your four years of medical school into three phases: Discovery, Exploration, and Horizons. Vista at a Glance (pdf)
What Courses Do I Take at Which Campus?
| Discovery | Exploration | Horizons | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baystate Campus in Springfield, MA | Early Clinical Learning Experiences Physical Diagnosis Longitudinal Preceptor Program Hospital Sessions Multidisciplinary Rounds Ultrasound Training |
Core Clinical Experiences Population Community Health Clerkship (PCHC) |
Clinical Problem Solver Intersessions Electives |
| Main Campus in Worcester, MA | All Discovery Courses, except Early Clinical Learning Experiences Testing |
Comprehensive Core Clinical Assessment Flexible Professional Experiences |
Acting Internship in Family Medicine Electives |
Grading and Assessment
PURCH students will be evaluated using the same metrics and grading scales as the non-PURCH track students. You will also need to successfully complete any additional sessions and/or activities that may be required for the PURCH Track.
The VISTA Curriculum in PURCH
Early Clinical Learning Experiences (ECL)
During the 18-month Discovery Phase, you'll have several early clinical learning educational sessions on Wednesdays at the Baystate campus. The ECL education components are: Small Group Sessions, Physical Diagnosis, Longitudinal Preceptor Program, Hospital Sessions, Multidisciplinary Rounds, and Ultrasound Training.
Small Group Sessions
You will develop a strong foundation in the Discovery Phase as you begin to form your professional identity as a physician. Through this mentored, skills-based curriculum you will integrate the 5 PURCH principles into your identity as a student, a citizen, and a physician.
These sessions are taught by Baystate Community Faculty, core clinical and non-clinical faculty from Baystate Health, and Brightwood Learning Community Mentors. Content covered in these sessions includes: the reflective practice, the medical interview, teamwork, advocacy, clinical reasoning, and oral presentations. You will also interact with patients, cultivating the skills to interview, examine, diagnose, treat, and educate them about their medical conditions and treatment recommendations. The impact of social determinants of health, social history, community influences, and resources on disease processes—with a focus on medically underserved communities—is emphasized in this course.
Physical Diagnosis
You will work with your Learning Community Mentors to develop expertise in the physical examination and acquire skills to maintain efficiency, respect, and trust. This includes the integration of trauma-informed physical exam concepts which incorporate specific language and behaviors that aim to enhance patients' sense of safety, autonomy, and trust.
Longitudinal Preceptorship Program (LPP)
You will be paired with a faculty physician preceptor in the beginning weeks of medical school, and will work with that same provider for 18 months as you practice the skills you learned in Small Group Sessions and Physical Diagnosis under direct supervision.
Hospital Sessions
You will build on the interview and physical examination skills learned through a series of observed hospital-based patient interview experiences at Baystate Medical Center. You also learn and practice the oral presentations and documentation.
Multidisciplinary Rounds
Working with nursing and pharmacy students you will come to understand the value of the interprofessional team. You will work through cases in small groups, practicing team-based patient-centered care. You will learn how to identify roles and responsibilities while embracing the PURCH principle of “ leaders who can be led”.
Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training
You will run simulation cases and learn hands-on skills in point-of-care ultrasonography using standardized patients and models.
Summer Community Health Assistantship (SCHA)
UMass Chan Medical School's optional Summer Community Health Assistantship offers students the opportunity to work in a wide variety of community-based health, education, and human service organizations during the summer months.
Flexible Professional Experiences
During the exploration phase, you will participate in a variety of flexible professional experiences . There is a diverse offering of pre-designed experiences or you also have the option of creating your own week-long experience. These experiences can be clinical or non-clinical (e.g. education, community service) and provide the opportunity to form mentorships, cultivate and develop interest in the specialty, gain intrinsic motivation for further learning in chosen fields, and explore potential career paths.
"I really appreciated how the PURCH track fostered the relationship between students and their community in western Massachusetts. With two full years to get to know the Springfield area, students can become active members of their community and feel empowered to participate in community advocacy projects. And by rotating through various specialties in their third and fourth years at Baystate, students have the opportunity to see the same patients across disciplines. They also get a view of the healthcare system from multiple perspectives."
.—Nathan Taber, Class of 2023
Required Clerkships
Clerkships in PURCH are organized in four 12-week blocks just as they are on the UMass Chan Medical School main campus:
- Pediatrics and OB/GYN
- Surgery and Radiology (1 week)
- Psychiatry and Neurology
- Internal Medicine
In addition, the Family Medicine Clerkship occurs longitudinally throughout all 4 blocks. You will have 1-2 week Family Medicine outpatient experiences per block.
| Core Clinical Clerkship | Clerkship Structure | Clerkship Director |
| Pediatrics | 4 weeks inpatient 1 week ambulatory |
Christine Marrese, MD Jenny Horowitz, MD |
| OB/GYN | 4 weeks inpatient 1 week ambulatory |
Deepali Maheshwari, MD |
| Surgery | 8 weeks inpatient 1 week ambulatory |
Azad Jabiev, MD Ziad Kutalyi, MD |
| Radiology | 1 week |
Joseph Makris, MD |
| Psychiatry | 4 weeks inpatient 1 week ambulatory |
Zachary Herrmann, MD |
| Neurology | 4 weeks inpatient 1 week ambulatory |
Sharjeel Panjwani, MD |
| Internal Medicine | 8 weeks inpatient 1 week ambulatory |
Raquel Belforti, DO, MS Kathryn Jobbins, DO |
| Family Medicine | 5 weeks outpatient over the course of 48 weeks |
Robert Baldor, MD Katherine Gerstle, MD |
The core UMass Chan Medical School curriculum content, grading requirements, and testing are the same as for non-PURCH students.
Population & Community Health Clerkship (PCHC)
PCHC provides you with a meaningful, community-engaged experience in western Massachusetts to complement your coursework.
During Explorations, students have three PCHC weeks. This is an immersive experience—you will partner with a community-based organization that provides services in communities within Baystate Health’s primary catchment areas—Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties.
It is also an interprofessional experience—learners from other disciplines may be on your team.
At the end of the PCHC, you will present to UMass Chan-Baystate faculty, Baystate Health leadership, and community partners, with the goal of recommending actionable strategies to advocate for your population of focus.
As part of the PURCH PCHC experience, students participate in the PURCH PITCH event. The PURCH PITCH event is a unique opportunity for the PURCH Track in which our MS 3 students get to further their skills in advocacy by providing a 5-minute pitch on the importance and impact the PCHC community organization to Baystate Health leaders, community members, and state legislatures.
PURCH Interstitials
The PURCH-specific interstitial curriculum is based at the Baystate campus in collaboration with community partners. This curriculum for all PURCH MS 3 students and takes place on selected Wednesdays 3:30-5pm.
Previous topics have included:
- Culture of Safety
- Care of LGBTQ+ Patients
- Spirituality
- Caring for Patients with Substance Use Disorder
- Palliative and Hospice Care
- Trauma Informed Care
- Nutrition for the Hospitalized Patient
An Approved Acting Internship
You are required to complete your Acting Internships in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Surgery at UMass Chan-Baystate. The Family Medicine Acting Internship is completed at the Main Campus in Worcester.
Baystate Clinical Problem Solver (CPS)
You are required to complete your CPS course at UMass Chan-Baystate.
This course offers an evidence-based approach to high-acuity care, combined with thoughtful clinical decision-making, which is fundamental to emergency medicine and critical care. This course integrates advanced clinical reasoning with hands-on experience to equip you with the skills to prioritize information, identify critical actions, and adapt to dynamic clinical situations in real time. Through this process, students will develop the ability to provide high-quality, patient-centered care during this rotation and throughout their careers.
The curriculum offers a comprehensive blend of didactics, simulation-based training, self-directed modules, and direct patient care in both the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit at Baystate Medical Center. This integrative experience bridges emergency medicine and critical care, fostering the development of core competencies essential for managing complex, high-acuity cases.
Pathway Elective
One month to engage in with a pathway venture community partnership and work on scholarly activity
Intersessions
PURCH Intersessions are 1 week intensives that take place in person during 3 separate weeks on the Baystate Campus. These intensives provide an opportunity for 4th year students to explore community and systemic issues that impact patient care and learn how to navigate patient care in the face of systemic challenges. The course is a mixture of didactic, small group, and interactive sessions that will help prepare students for complex scenarios that may arise during residency.
Intersession A: This intersession addresses the impact of societal forces on health and disease. Students will develop skills to recognize barriers to patient care related to social determinants of health and how to navigate patient care in the face of these barriers.
Intersession B: This intersession focuses on Health System Science. Students will gain deeper insight into health systems and understand how knowledge of health care at many different levels can help them better advocate and make changes at a system level to directly impact patient care.
Intersession C: This intersession addresses healthcare disparities faced by non-centered minority individuals. Students will recognize and learn ways to address and acknowledge injustices in healthcare and learn tools to advocate for and provide equitable and inclusive care to patients.
Electives
While you may choose to do electives on any campus, the advantage of completing them at UMass Chan-Baystate is that many PURCH-specific options are offered here. Some recent examples include:
- Urban Community Health
- AHEC/PURCH Rural Health Elective
- Care of the Underserved
- PURCH Preventive Care: Design Your Own Mobile Health Clinic as a Model for Underserved Communities
- Medical Education and Leadership Elective
You also have the opportunity to design your own elective based on your interests.
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