The medical student educational program is composed of the pre-clinical and clinical segments, thereby
providing the time and opportunities for students to master the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary
to become complete physicians. Throughout the four years, the emphasis is placed on three interrelated
themes:
-
A rigorous core scientific and clinical curriculum (the science)
-
A comprehensive clinical skill-building program (the art)
-
Opportunities to engage in complex clinical reasoning (medical decision-making)
First Year
Semester 1
- Molecular and Cellular Physiology
- Physician-Patient Communication
- Metabolism, Nutrition, and Endocrinology
- Introduction to Clinical Ethics
- Biochemistry
- English
Semester 2
- Patient, Populations, and Policy
- Cardiopulmonary
- Physical Diagnosis
- Gastrointestinal
- Pharmacology
- Molecular and Human Genetics
Semester 3
- Renal & Electrolytes
- Evidence-Based Medicine & Population Health
- Sexual Development and Reproduction
- Head, Neck, and Special Senses
- Ambulatory Care
- Medical Neuroscience
Second Year
Semester 1
- Fundamentals
- Applied & Clinical Immunology
- Hematologic Disorders
- Infectious Diseases I - Virology
- Ambulatory Care II
- Evidence-Based Medicine & Population Health II
- Epidemiology & Public Health
Semester 2
- Infectious Diseases II - Bacteriology & Mycology
- Cardiovascular
- Upper Respiratory & Pulmonary
- Physical Diagnosis
- Neurologic Disorders
- Renal/Genitourinary
- Reproduction
Semester 3
- Psychiatric Disorders
- Health Care Ethics
- Gastrointestinal/Hepatic
- Endocrine
- Orthopedic/Rheumatology/Dermatology
- Pediatrics/Geriatrics
Third and fourth year
The students will rotate through some weeks of required clerkships during your 3rd and 4th years, which
include:
- Family Medicine (4 weeks)
- Internal and Emergency Medicine (12 weeks)
- Neurology (2 weeks)
- Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 weeks)
- Pediatrics (6 weeks)
- Psychiatry (4 weeks)
- General Surgery (6 weeks)
- Surgical Specialties (6 weeks)
1- Students choose from one of the following options:
- Ophthalmology.
- Urology.
- Neurosurgery.
- Orthopedics.
- Otolaryngology.
- Selective (2 weeks)
1- Students choose from one of the following options:
- Anesthesia.
- Child Psychology.
- Dermatology.
- Geriatrics.
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
- Radiology.
- Surgical Pathology.
- Additional two weeks of Neurology.
At the conclusion of the Third Year, the student will undergo an exam before proceeding to the Fourth
Year.
1. Fourth Year students must complete two different 4 week Acting Internships (one "Required" and the
other "Selective").
- The Required is a four week Acting Internship in either the Internal Medicine Wards or in the
Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU).
- The Selective is a four week Acting Internship selected from a list of Acting Internship .
- Surgery
- Pediatrics
- Psych
- Orthopedics
- Surgical Critical Care
- Surgery
- Family Medicine
- Coronary Care Unit
2. Four weeks of Emergency Medicine.
3. Twenty-four weeks of electives of the student's choice
All electives require advance approval, from the appropriate Department Chair or Division Chief and
the Office of Medical Education.
4. Clinical Pharmacology week.
● Primary Care Selective with a core curriculum in quality improvement and the system for health care (4
weeks)
Medical decision-making and clinical skills are taught, developed, and assessed by rotating on hospital
ward teams, in private offices, and meeting with senior clinical faculty preceptors, who mentor, teach, and
assess the students.
In addition, there is a required capstone course entitled “Integrative Clinical Medicine” (3 weeks) in the
fourth year. Additionally, students have time to participate in electives locally and around the world and to
continue their thesis research project.
Required Thesis
University’s tradition of requiring a dissertation based on original research makes it unique among medical
schools. The thesis is an essential part of the curriculum, designed to develop critical judgment, habits of
self-education and application of the scientific method to medicine. In addition, it gives students the chance
to work closely with faculty who are distinguished scientists, clinicians, and scholars.The investigation may have its
origins in basic science or in clinical, laboratory, epidemiology and public
health, or medicine and the humanities (medical ethics, history of medicine, etc.). A hypothesis must be
defined, experimental methods developed, and data gathered to prove or disprove the hypothesis. Students
are expected to use state-of-the-art methods appropriate for research and scholarship in each discipline.
United States Medical Licensing Examination
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a three-step exam medical doctors are
required to pass before practicing medicine in the United States.
USMLE Scheduling & Guidelines
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a three-step exam medical doctors are
required to pass before practicing medicine in the United States. It is sponsored by the Federation of State
Meal Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners.
● Step I of the USMLE assesses a student's ability to apply basic sciences to the practice of medicine. The
eight-hour test consists of 350 multiple-choice questions. Students are required to take USMLE Step I by
December 31 of the third chronological year.
● Step II is divided into two exams, which tests clinical knowledge and clinical skills. Both must be taken by
December 31 of the fourth year, although we recommend you take both exams early in the fourth year.
● Step III, also a two-day exam, assesses whether a medical school graduate can apply medical knowledge
and understanding of biomedical and clinical science for the unsupervised practice of medicine. This exam
is typically taken at the end of the first year of residency.
