Medical School Curriculum

The WRTC has developed instructional modules for medical school students to improve their knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding the prevention, identification, and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

These materials were specifically designed to address the seven core competencies developed by the four RTCs on FASDs in collaboration with the CDC and NOFAS.  These competencies include:

• Historical, biomedical, and clinical knowledge about FASDs
• Screening and brief interventions for pregnant women and women of childbearing age
• Concepts and models of addiction 
• Effects of alcohol on the embryo and the developing fetus
• Screening, diagnosis, and assessment of individuals with FASDs
• Long-term case management for individuals with FASDs
• Legal and ethical issues related to FASDs

These instructional modules have been piloted, evaluated, and successfully integrated into the curriculum at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Each module includes student materials, instructional guide for faculty, and evaluation.  These materials are available for free, but only to medical school administrators and faculty, on request to the WRTC.  Below is a list of the available instructional modules, including a description of the competencies addressed, teaching format, and learning objectives. 

• Competency 1 (History, biomedical and clinical knowledge):  Videotaped lecture of Kenneth Lyon Jones, M.D., discussing his work with his mentor, David Jones, M.D. that led to the discovery of FAS in the United States, and a classroom discussion led by a faculty member. Students will
  • understand the biomedical foundation of FAS;
  • understand how clinical questions fostered discovery and generated research on FAS.
• Competency 2 (Screening and brief intervention):  Standardized patient case of an adolescent female who is binge drinking and has an unplanned pregnancy.  Students will learn to:
  • describe and use appropriate tools for screening adolescents regarding alcohol use
  • be familiar with how to implement the basic steps of a brief intervention.
• Competency 3 (Addiction):
• Competency 4 (Embryology):  Interactive computer lab on embryology and prenatal alcohol exposure. Students will
  • understand the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on growth and brain development in animals and humans.
• Competency 5 and 6 (Diagnosis and Case Management):  Problem-based learning case of 7-year old boy with FAS.  Case includes a hands-on exercise to provide students with an opportunity to practice conducting a dysmorphology exam. Students will:
  • recognize the continuum of effects of prenatal alcohol exposure;
  • become familiar with methods of assessing FASDs;
  • become familiar with differential diagnoses;
  • learn about interventions for individuals with FASDs
  • become aware of the importance of early intervention with this population.
• Competency 7 (Legal and Ethical Issues):  Interactive workshop using an episode from the television show, Law and Order, which depicts a pregnant woman who is using alcohol. Students will learn to:
  • apply the four basic principles of medical ethics to common medical situations
  • apply ethical and legal principles when the rights of a mother and her fetus are in conflict

Please note: Material will be progressively uploaded and become available.