In This Section

Phase 1 (Years 1 and 2) 

First Year

Introduction to the Culture and Practice of Medicine [Doctoring 1]

Taught throughout the first year of medical school, Doctoring 1 is an integrated series of lectures, small-group discussions, simulated patient encounters, and clinical correlation exercises. The course provides instruction in fundamental clinical skills: taking a patient history, performing a physical examination of a normal adult, and basic case presentation. Doctoring incorporates elements of the integrated pre-clerkship curriculum, including healthcare disparities, cultural determinants of health, barriers to provision of effective healthcare, health care teams and interprofessional education, medical systems, the impact of healthcare policies, and patient safety. Professionalism and the student’s emerging role as a healthcare provider are addressed throughout the course. Activities are integrated with the basic science curriculum.

Clinical faculty members are assigned as mentors to small groups of students. Students meet regularly with their faculty mentors to review their progress in the course, practice the clinical skills taught in patient instructor encounters, and rehearse their history-taking, examination, and professionalism skills with patients from the faculty member’s practice.

Overviews of clinical skills and patient management principles are presented in lectures or on-line tutorials, and rehearsed in small group, hands-on settings in the Clinical Simulation Center. Simulated patients, patient instructors, and high-fidelity patient mannequins are used extensively throughout the course. Students participate in formative Practice Clinical Encounters, after which they review and critique their performance with their faculty mentor. The course culminates in a multi-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

Fundamentals of Medicine

Fundamentals 1: Human Structure
Clinical anatomy and imaging, principles of embryology, fundamentals of histology and cell physiology.

Fundamentals 2: Cellular Function
Principles of metabolic pathways and their integration and regulation, the structure and function of genes and the genetic basis of diagnosis and treatment, and fundamentals of cell biology that are critical for all organ systems in health and disease.

Fundamentals 3: Host Defenses and Threats
General principles of immunology, including the interactions of immune system components in normal and disease states. Immunological methods to diagnose and treat diseases. Structure and function of microorganisms both as microbiota and pathogens, and introduction to major microbial pathogens and their diseases. Additional pathogens will be introduced longitudinally in integrated sessions throughout the organ system blocks.

Fundamentals 4: Basis of Disease and Treatment
Fundamentals of pathology and oncology, principles of pharmacology, and the diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease. Case-based introductions to biostatistics and epidemiology.

Organ Systems

Systems 1: Neuroscience and Psychiatry
Development, histology, neuroanatomy, and physiology of the autonomic and central nervous systems. Pathology and pathophysiology of nervous system diseases and treatment modalities will be interwoven. Behavioral topics, including psychiatric illnesses and substance use disorders, will be discussed, along with their treatment and societal impact.

Systems 2: Cardiovascular Medicine
Development, histology, and physiology of the cardiovascular system. Pathology and pathophysiology of diseases related to the cardiovascular system, along with the basis for diagnosis and the pharmacologic, medical, surgical, and behavioral treatment options.

Systems 3: Pulmonary Medicine
Development, histology, and physiology of the respiratory system. Pathology and pathophysiology of diseases related to the respiratory system, along with the basis for diagnosis and the pharmacologic, medical, surgical, and behavioral treatment options.


Second Year

Advanced Skills in the Culture and Practice of Medicine [Doctoring 2]

Doctoring 2 is taught throughout the second year of medical school, and further develops the concepts introduced in Doctoring 1. History-taking and physical examination techniques are reviewed in a 3-week refresher course. Presentation skills and write-ups are practiced and refined with preceptors in small group discussions. Students are brought into the hospital and into outpatient clinics where they perform complete assessments of patients with diverse medical issues. Clinical reasoning, diagnostic skills, and patient management approaches are taught and refined using standardized patient scenarios and actual patients’ medical problems. Clinical simulations in small group settings are used to explore special topics in physician-patient interactions. The course culminates in a multi-station OSCE. 

Organ Systems, Continued from Year 1

Systems 4: Nephrology
Development, histology, and physiology of the renal system. Pathology and pathophysiology of renal diseases, along with the basis for diagnosis and the pharmacologic, medical, surgical, and behavioral treatment options.

Systems 5: Gastroenterology and Nutrition
Development, histology and physiology of the gastrointestinal system.  Pathology and pathophysiology of diseases of the gastrointestinal system, along with the basis for diagnosis and the pharmacological, medical, surgical, and behavioral treatment options. This course also covers metabolism and nutrition and the effect of nutrient deficiencies and excesses on health.

Systems 6: Endocrinology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Urology
Development, histology and physiology of the endocrine system and male and female reproductive systems. Pathology and pathophysiology of diseases of the endocrine system, male and female reproductive systems, along with the basis for diagnosis and the pharmacological, medical, surgical, and behavioral treatment options.

Systems 7: Multi-Organ System Diseases: Hematology, Oncology, Musculoskeletal Disease, and Dermatology
Development, histology and physiology of the hematologic, musculoskeletal and dermatologic systems. Pathology and pathophysiology of diseases of the hematologic, musculoskeletal (rheumatologic and orthopedic) and dermatologic systems, along with the basis for diagnosis and the pharmacological, medical, surgical, and behavioral treatment options. This course also includes integrated multi-organ system clinical cases, incorporating topics from earlier courses that will require critical thinking and clinical problem solving.