Clinical Performance Center
The Clinical Performance Center, or CPC, is located two blocks east of the Basic Sciences Learning Center and the University of Chicago Medical Center in the Hyde Park Union Church ( 1169 East 56th Street, Fourth Floor).
Use of CPC in Pritzker Curriculum
The University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine curriculum currently utilizes trained, simulated and/or standardized patients in all aspects of the Clinical Skills course sequence. The Clinical Skills course in the first year of the curriculum uses both real and trained patients for the introduction of history taking skills, communication issues, and some physical exam skills.
In the Physical Diagnosis Course in the second year curriculum, students continue their instruction on physical exams and participate in small group sessions on cultural competencies, geriatrics and advanced communication. In addition, they complete a Head-to-Toe assessment on trained patients twice. The first is a practice and the second is a final assessment of their skills.
At the end of the third year clerkships, all students participate in the Clinical Performance Experience (CPX), in which they work with six to eight standardized patient cases and various models and devices (such as breast, heart sounds, lung) to assess clinical skills. The CPX provides a comparable experience to the USMLE Step II Clinical Skills exam. Finally, in the fourth year, the CPC is used for teaching Advanced Communication and Advanced Physical Diagnosis.
