Burnett School of Medicine at TCU Students Optimize Schedule with New Learning Management System

FORT WORTH  – Navigating the complexities of medical school curriculum and staying organized has become simpler for students at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. 

First-year medical students were invited to chat with developers of VidaNovaVLE™ (Virtual Learning Environment), an innovative educational platform developed by Fenix Alma Solutions Inc., that they use to manage everything from class pre-work to their clinical rotation schedule. 

Zacharia Ismaio, MS-1 at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, asked the developers if they could implement a more in-depth search function to find specific resources faster. 

“That’s the cool part about the meeting because they said, yes that’s coming soon,” Ismaio said. “It really goes to show that they’re really doing this for us as medical students. I think that kind of tailored view for the platform is really going to help us in the long term.” 

Fenix Alma Solutions Inc., a vanguard in educational technology, announced their partnership with the Burnett School of Medicine in 2023 to use VidaNovaVLE™ as their learning management system. It has a detailed suite of features including a robust Learning Management System (LMS), more than 15 interactive activities, innovative exam delivery, and a unique Taxonomy Management solution.  

There’s always a new update to give the students more control of how they learn, Ismaio added. 

“As a student, you feel like you have control and you’re able to navigate something as big as medicine in bite size pieces,” said.  

The tools in VidaNovaVLE™ facilitate a deeper understanding of medical principles and practices, optimally preparing students for their medical professions, said Jo Anna Leuck, M.D., Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Burnett School of Medicine.  

“Incorporating VidaNovaVLE™ within our curriculum gives our students the vital skills and knowledge necessary to become Empathetic Scholars® and thrive,” Dr. Leuck said. 

Students use the online platform to access their pre-work, slides, and learning resources before each class session. It also includes a calendar feature where students can see their class times, Clinical Skills, Scholarly Pursuit & Thesis (SPT) research, and Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) clinical rotations schedules. 

“VidaNovaVLE™ is our home base; it has everything we need,” said Martha-Grace McLean, MS-1 at Burnett School of Medicine. “I think the use of it is very future forward and having the ability to adapt it to our specific curriculum.” 

The partnership took a forward-thinking approach to how the Burnett School of Medicine developed its unique Empathetic Scholar™ curriculum that has Practicum/Clinical Modules that align with the medical school’s Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC), according to Dr. Leuck. 

For example, the platform creates checklists for students as they complete pre-work and resources while preparing for class.  

“My favorite thing about it is after you’ve completed a resource it will mark it as done,” McLean said. “It’s very gratifying to see.” 

VidaNovaVLE™ enables students, faculty, and administrators to interact with course content dynamically, thus creating increased comprehension and retention of knowledge. The partnership also allows for students to give feedback directly to Fenix Alma Solutions Inc. developers and medical school faculty managing the platform.  

“This is something that you’re not going to get at any other medical school,” Ismaio said. “It makes sure that you’re optimizing every second of your day.”