Prospective Student Information
Introduction
The Medical School provides the faculty and facilities for instruction of students in medicine. The primary goal of medical education is to produce physicians who have sound training in modern human biology and who have mastered the competencies requisite to entering graduate education in any of the medical specialties. Beyond Medical School and awarding of the M.D. degree, all graduates are obliged, by requirements for specialization or licensure, to undertake additional formal education or training. Beyond these formal programs are the continuing education activities in which individuals in practice must participate to keep abreast of developments in medicine. Much of the success of the continuum of medical education depends on individual responsibility and initiative. Therefore, to encourage such development in medical students, the concept of the student as an independent learner is emphasized in the curriculum.
The course of study for the M.D. degree requires completion of 152 weeks of academic work in the Medical School:
Year One - 43 weeks, mid-August to end of July
Year Two - 33 weeks, September to early May
Years Three & Four - 76 weeks, mid-May to mid-May
Year one includes coursework in basic medical sciences, behavioral science, and introductory experiences with patients. Year two consists of both department and integrated interdepartmental courses organized and taught along organ system and topical lines.
Before beginning the years three and four program, students select a faculty adviser and develop a plan for the two calendar years. For most students, this period begins in May following year two and ends in May of the senior year, with graduation and awarding of the M.D. degree. This two-year program includes 52 weeks of required clinical courses: 12 weeks of internal medicine; 6 weeks each of surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, and psychiatry; 4 weeks of neurology, 4 weeks in surgical specialties, and an 8-week ambulatory care experience with 4 weeks in family practice and 4 weeks in either general medicine, general pediatrics, or geriatrics. The balance of the program includes 24 weeks of electives and 26 weeks of free time. The Curriculum Outline depicts one of many possible arrangements of the years three and four portion of the M.D. program.
Students must pass Steps 1 and 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) as a requirement for graduation and the M.D. degree. Students must pass the USMLE Step 1 to continue full-time work in year three.
