Academics

Clinical Performance Experience

The Clinical Performance Experience, or CPX, is an assessment of clinical and communication skills, and is modeled on the USMLE's Step 2CS exam, using Standardized Patient-based encounters. All Pritzker School of Medicine third year students are required to take the CPX as part of their third year curriculum. The CPX helps the Pritzker School of Medicine to assess the impact of its curriculum on the abilities of its students, and provides the opportunity for students to do a self-assessment of their clinical skills. It also provides the basis for a one-on-one feedback session between students and faculty.

Students receive their scheduled date for the CPX in the Winter Quarter. The CPX occurs throughout April and very early May. On the day of their CPX, students will have an orientation prior to the first patient encounter.  There will be two rotations of six clinical experiences, which will be either standardized patient cases or examinations with task trainers.  For the SP cases, a Door Chart will provide the necessary information prior to the encounter. Students will have fifteen minutes to perform a focused history, physical exam, and any other tasks listed on the Door Chart. After each encounter there are seven minutes for the computerized inter-station exercise. For the task trainer cases, students will examine one or more task trainers/simulators/tracings/films and answer related questions in the 22 minute blocks.  This part of the CPX occurs from 7:55 AM through 1:30 pm. After all have rotated through all the stations, at about 1:30, there will be a half hour lunch.

Phase Two of the CPX involves the self-assessment, which occurs after lunch. Students will view their encounters, review SP comments on the Interpersonal Assessment, assess their performance, and assess the CPX experience as a whole. Each student will choose one encounter for which they wish to receive personalized feedback as part of Phase Three. This part of the day will occur from 2:00 pm until about 4:00 pm.

In Phase Three, students are assigned a faculty member who will provide feedback on the encounter selected for this purpose in their self-assessment. Faculty will review the encounter and assessment materials with the student, offering suggestions and feedback on how to continue to develop the student’s clinical skills. This meeting will occur on a date after the student's CPX. 

All the clerkship directors are informed well in advance of the scheduling and will release you from clinical responsibilities for that time.

You will be assessed on basic history-taking skills, basic maneuvers of a focused physical exam, your professional demeanor, and your communication skills.

You can prepare for the CPX by reviewing your head-to-toe course materials and your history-taking and communication course materials. You can also visit the Course in Canvas, MEDC 400000 01 CS3: Clinical Performance Experience, to review Pritzker Gold Standard physical examination videos. You can also contact Dr. Jeanne Farnan or Jenna Jackson or phone 773-753-0520, with any questions you may have. 

The cases are so general in nature that you should be able to deal with them appropriately whether you have completed all the clerkships or not.

You should wear a clean white lab coat, be well groomed, and bring your basic exam tool kit.

The CPX will take place at the CPC in the BSLC building, 924 E. 57th Street, Room LL012.

The CPX is meant to be a formative experience, designed for you to assess your skill level and facilitate a one-on-one feedback session with a faculty member.  As a required component of the third year curriculum, to pass the CPX you must participate in all twelve of the “patient” experiences, perform the self-assessment, and meet with your assigned faculty member for the one-on-one review session.

We ask that you not discuss your experience or that of others regarding the CPX, until all parties have participated. What you or they hear may actually prejudice you against performing a more complete history or physical, or cause incorrect conclusions to be drawn beforehand that could negatively impact performance and score results.

You should expect to be at the CPC from 7:55 a.m. until about 4:00 p.m. We urge you to take your time and review any and all materials generated by your CPX, while you have the day dedicated to this experience.

You must coordinate a switch to another date with one of your classmates. Inform both your clerkship director to make sure you have the appropriate release from your clerkship duties, and Registrar Michael McGinty, to ensure we are prepared with the correct materials on your CPX date.

Feedback must occur typically by June 19th for students to be able to matriculate to their third year activities. However, students scheduled at NorthShore for a clerkship rotation in April, May, or early June may be assigned to meet with a doctor at NorthShore.