University of California San Francisco
UCSF School of Medicine UCSF Medical Center

MD Program Objectives (2027)

The MD education program objectives (EPOs) are the graduation milestones for the UCSF School of Medicine. Upon graduation from the UCSF MD Program, students are required to have demonstrated competence in the EPOs/graduation milestones listed below. 

The Committee on Curriculum Educational Policy (CCEP) reviewed and updated the education program objectives in January 2026 for students enrolled in the Bridges Curriculum, effective Fall 2027.

Patient Care (PC)

Graduates will be able to:

  • PC1: Gather complete and focused histories from patients, families and caregivers, and electronic health records in an organized manner, appropriate to the clinical situation and the individual, interpersonal, and structural factors that impact health
  • PC2: Conduct complete and focused physical exams, using appropriate technology-enhanced physical diagnosis tools, including artificial intelligence, interpreting abnormalities, and maintaining patient-centered care
  • PC3: Present encounters accurately and efficiently, including relevant gathered information, prioritized differential diagnosis, assessment, and plan
  • PC4: Document patient encounters accurately and efficiently while mitigating potential impacts of bias, including independent authorship that integrates appropriate use of decision support, including artificial intelligence if applicable, for reporting of information, assessment, and plan
  • PC5: Perform common procedures safely and correctly, including participating in obtaining informed consent, following universal precautions and sterile technique, and attending to patient comfort   
  • PC6: Collaborate with patients, families, caregivers, and interprofessional team members to prioritize care effectively, delivering  high-quality care that addresses patients' medical and social needs 

Medical Knowledge (MK)

Graduates will be able to:

  • MK1: Establish and maintain knowledge necessary for the preventive care, diagnosis, treatment, and management of medical problems
  • MK2: Through an inquiry-oriented and analytic approach to learning and patient care, develop and implement approaches for generating and applying new knowledge, including an individual course of study that emphasizes inquiry, discovery, and dissemination
  • MK3: Select, justify, and interpret diagnostic tests and imaging
  • MK4: Diagnose and explain clinical problems to patients, families, and caregivers  
  • MK5: Use electronic decision support tools to inform clinical reasoning and decision making
  • MK6: Select and apply basic preventive, curative, and/or palliative therapeutic strategies  

Practice-Based Learning & Improvement (PBLI)

Graduates will be able to:

  • PBLI1: Identify, critically appraise, and apply evidence from scientific studies and other credible sources to address patients’ health needs, integrating findings with clinical expertise and patient preferences to improve care quality and outcomes
  • PBLI2: Critically reflect on one's own performance to identify strengths and challenges; reflect on and address the impact that personal biases, identity, and privilege have on interactions and decision-making; set learning and improvement goals; and engage in learning activities that address one’s gaps in knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes
  • PBLI3: Employ strategies for seeking, receiving, acting upon, and delivering feedback, and contribute to a culture of openness to and appreciation of feedback

Interpersonal & Communication Skills (ICS)

Graduates will be able to:

  • ICS1: Communicate effectively in interpersonal and electronic communications, including discussions of associated risks and uncertainties, with patients, families, caregivers, peers, and other team members of diverse backgrounds, using strategies to build alliances, promote inclusion, equity, and understanding
  • ICS2: Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, compassion, and active listening in conversations with patients, families, and caregivers  
  • ICS3: Share and elicit information and negotiate management plans using shared decision making with patients, families, and caregivers.
  • ICS4: Anticipate, interpret, and respond to one’s own and others’ emotions to manage interpersonal interactions effectively

Professionalism

Graduates will be able to:

  • Pro1: Form relationships with patients, families, and colleagues that demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to how each person defines their identity   
  • Pro2: Demonstrate respect, compassion, honesty, and integrity when interacting with patients, families, colleagues, and teams
  • Pro3: Balance the needs of patients and healthcare team with one's own needs
  • Pro4: Recognize the need for additional help or supervision and seek it accordingly
  • Pro5: Demonstrate accountability, reliability, and transparency including initiative, responsiveness, and follow-through, in interactions with patients, families, caregivers, and colleagues in interpersonal and electronic communications, including electronic health records
  • Pro6: Practice with a commitment to ethical principles, social justice, and societal needs, including maintaining patient confidentiality, responding to medical errors and healthcare disparities, respecting patient autonomy, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and using electronic tools, including artificial intelligence and social media, responsibly
  • Pro7: Adhere to institutional, regulatory, and professional standards and administrative expectations; promote personal, patient, and public safety; adhere  to principles of ethical research; and manage conflicts of interest  
  • Pro8: Demonstrate healthy coping mechanisms to respond to stress, including using resources to promote wellness and maintain professional behavior
  • Pro9: Demonstrate ongoing commitment to one's own professional identity formation as a physician accountable to patients, colleagues, society, and the profession, including cultivating a growth mindset by recognizing and addressing lapses, seeking feedback, and using these experiences to promote continuous professional growth

Systems-Based Practice (SBP)

Graduates will be able to:

  • SBP1: Collaborate effectively to coordinate patient care within and across healthcare systems, including during care transitions and hand-offs, to ensure continuity, safety, and efficiency
  • SBP2: Participate in system-based approaches to identify, report, and mitigate threats to patient safety, and contribute to  a culture of safety and accountability within the healthcare team
  • SBP3: Engage in continuous quality improvement using systematic, data-driven, and team-based approaches to enhance the safety, quality, and value of care for patients and populations, including evaluating the risks and benefits of current and emerging technologies in patient care and advancing health equity
  • SBP4: Apply an understanding of current and historical factors affecting health disparities and health equity, including how health policy and financial context of health care impact disparities, to advocate and advance the health of patients and communities

Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC)

Graduates will be able to:

  • IPC1: Apply the knowledge of one’s own role in different teams and settings and the roles of other health professionals and administrative teams to assess and address the healthcare needs of patients and populations
  • IPC2: Communicate with other health professionals and administrative teams in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a collaborative approach to the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease in patients and populations
  • IPC3: Work with other health professionals and administrative teams to establish and maintain a climate of mutual respect, dignity, diversity, ethical integrity, and trust