The Interdisciplinary Generalist Curriculum Project at the University of Vermont College of Medicine: The Vermont Generalist Curriculum (VGC) experience

The University of Vermont College of Medicine received its Vermont Generalist Curriculum (VGC) subcontract as one of the second-cycle Interdisciplinary Generalist Curriculum (IGC) Project schools from 1995 to 1998. The Vermont program was jointly codirected by the chairs of family practice and pediatrics and the program director for internal medicine on a rotating basis and was overseen by a multidisciplinary steering committee that included generalists, basic scientists, specialists, and students. This committee provided guidance and support in recruitment of preceptors, continuous assessment and improvement of the courses, development of a clinical correlation manual for students in clinical offices, and cooperation around a jointly sponsored annual primary care meeting that included a joint scientific program, a research forum, and a faculty development workshop. The VGC has provided a pilot for many innovative curricular changes that have served as models for the school-wide curriculum redesign process currently under way at Vermont. While the funding for this project ended in 1998, the changes, innovations, and collaboration born out of the project are valuable enough for the dean's office to maintain the VGC's funding and its steering committee for the future.