Comparing Pediatric Rotations at Two University of Queensland Clinical Schools

The University of Queensland (UQ), Ochsner Clinical School (OCS) is a partnership between Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, LA, and UQ in Brisbane, Australia. OCS medical students are trained on both continents, receiving their didactic education in Australia and their clinical education in the United States.

We review the OCS experience and compare the pediatric rotations at OCS and UQ.

Students in the pediatric rotations in Australia and in the United States receive their clinical instruction in the real-world learning environment of hospitals and clinics. In addition, lectures, online learning modules, case-based tutorials, and rigorous assessment at the end of the rotation help prepare medical students for future contact with pediatric patients. Sixty-nine third-year OCS students and 499 fourth-year UQ students completed the pediatric rotation in 2014. In 2015, 105 third-year OCS students and approximately 400 fourth-year UQ students completed the pediatric rotation.

In a unique educational collaboration, OCS has used e-learning and face-to-face tutorials to produce a well-rounded curriculum that assimilates global healthcare and international medicine. This article demonstrates the feasibility of delivering a standardized curriculum across two continents using modern e-learning tools.