SOM Course of Study

Overview

The purpose of the medical curriculum is to give students with high academic promise the opportunity to develop the knowledge, clinical skills, attitudes, and behaviors of excellent physicians. The curriculum in medicine consists of four academic sessions. During the two preclinical years, students learn the sciences foundational to the practice of medicine and participate in lectures, case-based learning, laboratory exercises, small-group discussions, computer-assisted learning, independent study, and patient simulations. Third-year students must complete and pass Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) to be eligible for promotion to the fourth year.

The third year involves full-time clinical study as students rotate through the major clinical disciplines and selected electives. Students participate in the team care of patients in the University Hospitals and Clinics, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and various community settings. Advanced Cardiac Life Support and the required procedural skills must be completed and documented in the third year.

During the fourth year, students select from a variety of courses that fulfill core requirements, including ambulatory, critical care, inpatient, and procedural medicine. Additionally, there is significantly more time for elective coursework that can be tailored to a student’s individual interests and specialty plans. Students also completed the Transition to Residency course to ease the transition from undergraduate medical education to the residency environment. Senior students must pass Step 2 CK to be eligible for graduation.

Educational Program Objectives

The SOM curriculum is determined and overseen by the school's Curriculum Committee. All courses and clerkships are based on the Educational Program Objectives (EPOs) set by the Curriculum Committee as the foundational knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for a student to receive the MD degree and begin residency training. The EPOs were last reviewed and updated in May of 2022.

Medical Knowledge

Graduates must recognize alterations from the normal structure and function of the human body, identify causes of such abnormalities, and describe their pathogenesis.

MK-a. Identify the normal structure and function of the human body and each of its major organ systems.

MK-b. Explain the molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms which maintain the body's homeostasis.

MK-c. Recognize and describe the altered structure and function of the body and its major organ systems that are seen in various diseases and conditions.

MK-d. Describe the various mechanisms of disease.

MK-e. Analyze the relationship among biological, psychological, behavioral, and societal causes of disease.

Patient Care

Graduates must utilize the appropriate diagnostic and interventional skills necessary to evaluate, accurately diagnose, and appropriately treat each patient.

PC-a. Obtain an accurate medical history that includes all essential aspects of the patient's history, including issues related to age, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and the social determinants of health.

PC-b. Perform comprehensive and organ system-specific physical examinations.

PC-c. Select and interpret results of commonly used diagnostic studies and procedures.

PC-d. Utilize deductive reasoning to diagnose common disorders, following a structured approach to generate and narrow the differential diagnosis.

PC-e. Obtain informed consent for medical procedures, including all ethically and medicolegally necessary sections.

PC-f. Perform routine medical procedures, including airway management, insertion of a Foley catheter, insertion of a nasogastric tube, insertion of an intravenous catheter, and suturing of simple lacerations.

PC-g. Construct therapeutic plans for patients with common acute and chronic medical, surgical, and psychiatric diseases, including those requiring short- and long-term rehabilitation.

PC-h. Identify patients with emergent conditions and institute stabilizing management.

PC-i. Provide safe and ethical pain relief and ameliorate suffering.

PC-j. Identify the important non-biological determinants of a patient’s poor health and the psychological, economic, geographical, societal, and cultural factors contributing to the development and continuation of a patient’s condition.

Systems-Based Practice

Graduates must navigate the American healthcare system in a manner that promotes equitable and high-quality care, ensures patients receive needed care regardless of insurance coverage, and guarantees transparency in financial arrangements.

SBP-a. Describe approaches to the organization, financing, and delivery of health care.

SBP-b. Advocate for patients with limited access to healthcare and provide care to those who are unable to pay.

SBP-c. Identify the non-biological causes of diseases created by the psychological, environmental, and societal risk factors resulting from structural inequalities.

SBP-d. Apply knowledge of the epidemiology of common diseases within vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved populations.

SBP-e. Describe the systematic approaches useful in reducing the incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of common diseases within vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved populations.

SBP-f. Utilize electronic health records to document, coordinate, and optimize patient care.

SBP-g. Facilitate the function of a multidisciplinary care team in caring for individual patients and in promoting the health of defined populations.

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

Graduates must evaluate and accept limitations in their knowledge and clinical skills and commit to continuously improving their knowledge and abilities.

PBLI-a. Retrieve, manage, and utilize biomedical information for problem-solving and decision-making relevant to the care of individuals and populations.

PBLI-b. Perform literature searches to answer patient-oriented clinical questions.

PBLI-c . Evaluate the various forms of clinical evidence to determine the appropriate course of patient care.

PBLI-d. Assess individual learning needs to create self-study plans and engage in lifelong learning to stay abreast of relevant advances in biological and social sciences.

Interpersonal Communication Skills

Graduates must communicate with patients, families, and team members in a manner that optimizes safe, effective patient- and population-centered care.

ICS-a. Establish empathetic and trusting interpersonal relationships with patients and families.

ICS-b. Establish and maintain professional relationships with all healthcare providers based on mutual respect, dignity, equity, diversity, integrity, and trust.

ICS-c. Communicate with cultural sensitivity, both orally and in writing, with patients, families, colleagues, health care team members, and any others with whom physicians must exchange information in carrying out their responsibilities.

ICS-d. Provide compassionate and nonjudgmental treatment to all patients while respecting their privacy and dignity, without regard for demographic factors unrelated to their condition.

Professionalism

Graduates must provide ethical and beneficent medical care for all patients.

P-a. Apply the theories and principles that govern ethical decision-making when caring for patients, particularly those related to the beginning and ending of life and those that surface from the rapid expansion of technology. (5.6)

P-b. Advocate for improvement in the access, quality, and delivery of care for all patients. (5.4, 6.4)

P-c. Assess personal physical and emotional limitations and engage in appropriate help-seeking behaviors as needed. (8.1)

P-d. Create and maintain a work-life balance in a manner that ensures high-quality, patient-centered care and personal wellness. (8.3, 8.4, 8.99)

P-e. Integrate awareness of the impact of sociocultural differences and implicit bias in the approach to care of individual patients. (4.1, 5.5)

Preclinical Phase

Clinical Phase

Extramural Rotations

Senior students may also complete extramural rotations at other institutions. Up to three rotations (ranging from a total of 6-12 weeks) may be completed in one specialty. Extramural courses can only be added to student schedules by the Office of Medication after the student has completed the necessary scheduling and compliance activities to ensure they are covered by malpractice. Extramural courses cannot be added retroactively. All 4-week extramural rotations award 10 credits, while all 2-week extramural rotations award 5 credits.

View the "SOM Programs" page to learn more about SOM's Programs of Study.