Medical Education Committees

The Committee on Undergraduate Medical Education (CUME) is responsible for (1) reviewing and approving policies and programs for the MD program in the College of Medicine, and (2) implementing and evaluating the undergraduate medical education curriculum of the College of Medicine. Subcommittees of the CUME coordinate and implement the educational program in specific areas.

The CUME typically meets via Zoom the third Monday of every month from 1-2 pm Central time with participation for faulty and students on our Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville campuses.

Committee Members

Memphis

• Mike Whitt, PhD (CUME Chair)
• Aditi Kesari, MBBS, PhD (MBNBF Course Director)
• Alexis Halsey (Admin/Staff)
• Amy Hall (Instructional Consultant)
• Bruce Keisling, PhD (IPE Director)
• Catherine Womack, MD (Student Affairs)
• Clint Cummins (Community Member)
• Derek Wilcox (Admin/Staff)
• Gina Raymond, MD (VA, Memphis)
• Jennifer Wilson (Admin/Staff)
• Kaushik Parthasarathi, PhD (CMDCS Chair)
• Kris Maday
• Kristen Bettin, MD (CSS Chair)
• Laura Wright (Admin/Staff)
• Lauren King, MD
• Lindsey Lowry (Admin/Staff)
• Matt Ennis, PhD (DOME Vice Chair)
• Mark Miller, PhD
• Nar'Asha Randall, Class of 2026
• Nicole Terfloth, Class of 2026
• Pallavi Khanna, MD
• Tamara Nelson (Library)
• Tara Lemoine (CHIPS)
• Tina Mullick, MD
• Walter Siv, Class of 2025
• Witt Fesmire, Class of 2025

Knoxville

• Bill Dabbs, MD
• Brittany Bracco (Admin/Staff)
• Heather Johnson (Admin/Staff)
• Paige Johnson, MD

Chattanooga

• Dan Stanley, MD
• Karen Rogers
• Tiffany Nabors (Admin/Staff)

Nashville

• Ben Maddox, MD
• Brady Allen, MD
• Tristin Casteel (Admin/Staff)

As a subcommittee of CUME, the CMDCS is responsible for (1) reviewing and recommending policies and programs in the pre-clinical, basic sciences portion of the curriculum to the CUME and (2) for implementing and evaluating the biomedical sciences curriculum. Membership is composed of current course and module directors in the pre-clinical curriculum and elected student representatives from each class, all of whom are voting members. The subcommittee is chaired by the Senior Assistant Dean for Basic Science Curriculum. Administrative support is provided by the Office of Medical Education (OME) personnel, who attend meetings as non-voting members. The CMDCS is responsible for delivery of the pre-clinical curriculum and is expected to manage minor changes, such as scheduling, that fall within the current curriculum structure.

The CMDCS typically meets monthly on either the third Tuesday or third Thursday of every month in room C1 of the 930 Madison Building.

Committee Members

• Kaushik Parthasarathi, PhD (Chair)
• Aditi Kesari, PhD
• Balaji Krishnaiah, MD
• Barney Elam, MD/PhD
• Barry Wall, MD
• Brad Waters, MD
• Derek Wilcox, MBA
• Joseph Callaway, PhD
• Khyati Kothari, MD
• Laura Wright
• Lauren King, MD
• Lindsey Lowry
• Mark Miller, PhD
• Melissa Taylor, PhD
• Michael Whitt, PhD
• Owen Phillips, MD
• Pallavi Khanna, MD
• Pralhad Sharma, MD
• Steve Nace, MD
• Syed Raza, MD
• Tj Patel, MD
• Trevor Sweatman, PhD

As a subcommittee of CUME, the CSS is responsible for (1) reviewing and recommending policies and programs regarding the third-year core clerkships and fourth-year required courses and electives to the CUME, (2) managing the implementation and evaluation of the clerkship curriculum, (3) reviewing new course proposals from faculty members, (4) implementing and evaluating the post-clerkship curriculum, and (5) voting on recommendations for new course/clerkship directors and assistant clerkship directors. The subcommittee is responsible for delivery of the clinical curriculum, including reviews of campus comparability. The CSS is expected to manage minor changes, such as scheduling, that fall within the current curriculum structure. The membership is composed of the senior assistant and assistant deans of clinical curriculum, clerkship directors and assistant clerkship directors from all campuses/sites, M4 required course directors, and two elected student representatives from each of the M3 and M4 classes, all of whom are voting members.  Support personnel (including campus coordinators and clerkship/course coordinators), regional campus UME deans, and members of the Office of Student Affairs attend meetings as non-voting members. The CSS meets virtually on the second Monday afternoon of each month. 

 

Chair: Kristen Bettin, MD, MEd, Senior Assistant Dean of Clinical Curriculum

Vice Chair: Bill Dabbs, MD, Assistant Dean of Clinical Curriculum

As a subcommittee of CUME, the CIS is charged with developing processes to promote horizontal and vertical integration of the curriculum and to ensure that it meets the program objectives approved by the CUME. The responsibilities of the CIS are to (1) audit the longitudinal curriculum to help identify gaps and redundancies in content and to optimize and coordinate delivery (depth of content and sequence) and assessment to support mastery of the program objectives, (2) develop longitudinal curricular elements (“threads”) as needed to address opportunities for improvement identified by curricular audits, and (3) evaluate and report the results of longitudinal threads that are implemented by action of the CUME. To accomplish these functions, the CIS works in close collaboration with the CMDCS and CSS, and with the respective Assistant Deans of the pre-clinical and clinical curricula. The CIS is led by the Assistant Dean of Curriculum Integration and is composed of pre-clinical/basic science faculty, clinical faculty from each clinical campus, student representatives, and ex officio members from the OME. As specified in the COM Bylaws, everyone, except ex officio members, are voting members of CIS.

Progress and Promotions Committee for a Medical Class: Each medical class which matriculates has a group of six to seven faculty appointed as its Progress and Promotions Committee. This committee will meet with respective course directors in each semester of the freshman and sophomore years and with respective clerkship directors during the third and fourth year. Committee is responsible for recommending to the Dean appropriate action to be taken for students who fail a course/clerkship, fail to achieve the required GPA or who fail the Step 1 or 2 USMLE examinations. Commitment: sporadic but approximately 20 hours per year.

The QICC has direct responsibility for monitoring compliance with LCME standards and providing oversight for continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities within the purview of the medical education program. QICC meets at least monthly to review the required elements to be monitored and the DCI.

Regular Members of the QICC include:

• Aditi Kesari, MD (Assistant Dean of Curriculum Integration)
• Alexis Halsey (Administrative Associate III, Office of Medical Education)
• Allen Dupont, PhD (Associate Vice Chancellor, Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support)
• Andrea Malkin, JD (Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education)
• Alicia Diaz Thomas, MD (Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs)
• Bill Dabbs, MD (Assistant Dean, Clinical Curriculum, Knoxville)
• Catherine Womack, MD (Associate Dean, Student Affairs and Admissions)
• David Whetstone, MD (Assistant Professor, Nashville)
• Derek Wilcox, MBA (Director of Medical Education and Quality Improvement)
• Dustin Fulton, EdD (Assistant Dean, Admissions)
• Kaushik Parthasarathi, PhD (Senior Assistant Dean, Preclinical Curriculum)
• Kristen Bettin, MD (Senior Assistant Dean, Clinical Curriculum)
• Laura Wright (Senior Evaluation and Assessment Analyst)
• Mark Miller, PhD (Assistant Dean, Preclinical Curriculum)
• Matt Ennis, PhD (Director of Student Research)
• Michael Whitt, PhD (QICC Chair and Associate Dean, Medical Education)
• Karen Rogers, MD (Assistant Dean of Medical Education, Chattanooga)
• Nia Zalamea, MD (Assistant Dean, Student Affairs)
• Paige Johnson, MD (Assistant Dean of Medical Education, Knoxville)
• Ramesh Narayanan, PhD (Interim Assistant Dean of Research)
• Tali Wajsfeld, MD (Instructor and Medical Director, Nashville)
• Tiffany Nabors (Medical Student Services Specialist, Chattanooga)
• Todd Barber (IT Executive Director)

The Support & Advisory Group for Evaluation (SAGE) supports the Evaluation & Assessment Team in the Office of Medical Education and provides constructive review of procedures for data collection, management, and reporting. SAGE works to ensure that program evaluation is serving the needs of stakeholders, including administration, faculty, and students. The group does in-depth review of outcomes, identifies areas for improvement, and communicates key findings to the Associate Dean for Medical Education or other responsible units, as appropriate.

Membership:

• Derek Wilcox, MBA; Director of Medical Education and Quality Improvement (Chair)
• Laura Wright; Senior Evaluation and Assessment Analyst
• Lindsey Lowry, MAT; Evaluation and Curriculum Data Analyst
• Allen Dupont, PhD; Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support
• Ashley Connolly, MPS; Student Affairs Manager
• Kathryn Hines, MD; Clerkship Director, Pediatrics – Chattanooga
• Kristen Bettin, MD; Assistant Dean, Clinical Curriculum
• Melissa Taylor, PhD; Assistant Professor, Anatomy
• Sharon Valente, PhD; Director of Institutional Effectiveness
• Steven Henley, MBA; Longitudinal Course Coordinator
• Tina Mullick, MD; Clerkship Director, Internal Medicine – Memphis
• Trevor Sweatman, PhD; Course Director
• Kylila Tucker, Class of 2025
• Megan MacAulay, Class of 2025
• Tasfia Chowdhury, Class of 2026
• Kimberly Tran, Class of 2026
• Lily Goldsmith, Class of 2027
• Alexia Paxton, Class of 2027