Left (1): Assoc Prof Yen-Fu Cheng; Left (3): Assoc Prof Yuan-I Chang; Left (4): Vice Dean Jiing-Feng Lirng; Right (1): Director Albert Yang
Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CICOM), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is the first engineering-based college of medicine in United States of America. The NYCU College of Medicine has also established the first medical-engineer MD program in Taiwan. Since the September Visit of NYCU delegations in 2022, faculties of the two colleges of medicine has continued promoting innovative medical education and research collaborations. And in March 2023, The Dean Cohen and the faculties of CICOM visited NYCU College of Medicine for in-person conference and discussions.
Recently, in May, following the March discussions, a group of NYCU faculties led by Vice Dean of College of Medicine, Jiing-Feng Lirng participated a two-day intensive mini-workshops and discussions on May 1st and 2nd with 37 CICOM faculties, including Executive Vice Dean Gregory Polites, Acting Regional Dean Janet Jokela, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs George Mejicano, as well as other faculties and students. The purpose of this visit is to further strengthen collaborations and partnerships in innovative medical education, and to get first-hand experience sharing on the PBL (problem-based learning) program design and teaching methods, IDEAS, Capstone courses, and MD/PhD degree collaboration from CICOM faculties.
Back row left (5): Vice Dean Jiing-Feng Lirng; Back row right (4): Director Albert Yang; Front row left (1): Assoc Prof Yuan-I Chang; Front row left (2): Assoc Prof Yen-Fu Cheng
NYCU College of Medicine has developed its PBL group teaching for more than 20 years. Through this May Visit, the NYCU delegates observed PBL courses in CICOM, and had in-depth discussions on how to integrate engineering concepts and knowledge into PBL teaching, which help students develop innovative thinking and apply technology to solve unresolved problems in basic or clinical medicine. Both parties have agreed to regularly hold bilateral PBL teaching case writing and discussion workshops to promote the engineering medicine education.
The IDEAS course at CICIOM emphasizes on training medical students to propose engineering medicine-oriented ideas to solve clinical problems in different clinical settings. In this course, medical students need to select one from all proposed ideas and form teams to carry out Capstone projects during their final year of clinical clerkships. CICOM also provides ample funding to help students turn ideas into integrated solutions. The course is designed to allow students to collaborate across disciplines and develop leadership skills. It is a great reference for us to redesign our medical education.
In addition, the faculties also discussed the MD/PhD program. The NYCU delegates discussed possible alternatives or arrangement with Director of the MD/PhD program at CICOM, Professor James Slauch, and Dean of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois, Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, to encourage medical students pursue advanced training in UIUC after completing the basic clinical courses in their fourth year at UIUC. This potential collaboration will facilitate the training of interdisciplinary physician-scientists and physician-engineers in the future.
Finally, this visit also aimed to promote bilateral research collaborations in fields such as neuroscience, oncology, and intelligent healthcare, as well as to discuss further collaboration between the two colleges. In late June, NYCU medical engineering students will visit the CICOM to participate in their program and visit research labs in different fields. Through intensive communication and exchanges, the NYCU College of Medicine will continue to promote innovative medical education and cultivate a new generation of physicians with interdisciplinary expertise and innovative thinking.
The Medial Sciences Building at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, UIUC
