The academic year generally starts in the second week of September and is normally of 36 weeks duration. Medical education is governed by an integrated teaching approach. In this system the medical student is first provided with the knovvledge of the simplest and smallest functional as well as structural units and then with that of more complex functional and structural systems of the human body. All lectures and laboratory work are well coordinated and correlated. Except for anatomic dissections all laboratory studies are performed in multidisciplinary laboratories instead of isolated departmental laboratories to facilitate the integration and coordination.
Students perform all experiments ndependently.
Phases IV and V comprise the clinical clerkship periods during vvhich the students work for the department to which they are attached under the supervision of the teaching staff on a full-time basis. The students are responsible for taking the histories, performing physical examinations, and the follovv-up of their patients. Th s clerkship period also includes bed side practice, lectures, seminars and clinicopathological conferences. Phase VI is the undergraduate internship period, a twelve-month educational program. During this period the interns participate with responsibility in patient care and are directed by the teaching staff.