The Medical College of Wisconsin-Central wisconsin
MCW-Central Wisconsin opened in 2016 as the second of two regional campuses of MCW (the first being MCW-Green Bay which opened in 2015), with our first graduating class in 2019. Our mission is to produce a community-engaged primary care and psychiatric workforce for Central and Northern Wisconsin.
Admission to the MCW-CW campus is based on successful initial screening for academic and personal achievement by the MCW Admissions Committee, suitability for the campus mission, interest in Primary Care, Psychiatry and other high need specialties, as well as a successful campus-specific interview with the Regional Applicant Advisory Committee composed of physicians and community members from the Central Wisconsin region.
Consistent with our mission, MCW-CW admissions prioritize students from Wisconsin and surrounding states, and students who are interested in careers in rural areas and smaller communities.
MCW-CW utilizes a calendar-efficient 134-week curriculum that can be completed in 3 years, allowing one year less tuition and entering the workforce a year earlier. Some students will complete the curriculum in 4 years. Students begin the M1 year 6 weeks earlier with the “bootcamp” style Foundations of Clinical medicine course, preparing students for continuous patient exposure across the curriculum.
The MCW basic science Discovery Curriculum is delivered via bi-directional digital technology with the same objectives and assessments for all campuses. Gross Anatomy is taught locally with a full dissection curriculum.
The clerkship curriculum begins in the summer between M1 and M2 and is delivered via a multisite Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) model (called the Central Wisconsin Integrated Clerkship or CWIC). This model emphasizes continuity of patients and faculty, and competency-based (rather than time-based) evaluation. Elective time is reduced in this curriculum. The small class size of 25 allows for individuation of the curriculum.
Community-engagement is a hallmark of our campus. The “Physician in the Community Pathway” immerses students with community agencies and mentors, implementing a co-designed community project addressing social determinants of health and community needs.