The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has introduced a new concept in training medical studentsCurriculum 2000. Started in September, Curriculum 2000 recognizes that today's doctors are expected to integrate the common ground shared by basic science and clinical work. Laid out in five modules, Curriculum 2000 begins with basic science, which is then revisited when the emphasis is clinical.
Clinical exposure begins within the first five months of the curriculum.
The first module-Core Principles includes the seminal principles of developmental and molecular biology. Simultaneously, students spend two afternoons a week working in Module Three -Technology and the Practice of Medicine. Module Two is organized around organ systems and disease. During one week of the intense exposure to the principles of musculoskeletal medicine, the students will revisit relevant concepts and practical issues related to growth and development, injury and repair, and aging and degeneration of the muscoskeletal system. Module Four includes core clerkships organized according to allied disciplines.