Integrated curriculum model for a residency program.

A teaching model for an integrated curriculum has been developed for residents in orthopedics at the Université de Montréal. The experimental implementation of the model followed three sequential stages. First, the identification of specific behavioural objectives for each 6-month rotation was made feasible by gathering objectives according to the modular concept. Second, the introduction of a new teaching format, using simulated cases, taught residents the process of problem-solving and changed that attitudes of surgeons from those of teachers to those of "facilitators" of resident learning. Third, a grid matching the specific objectives with hospital activities, developed as an in-training evaluation procedure, made it possible to assess resident learning more frequently, more objectively and according to certain identified criteria. Finally, a program evaluation was used to identify the outcomes of the educational reorganization.