Patient contact begins early in the first year and increases throughout the four years. At the center of the curriculum is the patient, the science of medicine, and the physician's role in improving the health of individuals and communities.
Students adapt the curriculum to their own learning styles.
In the first year, students develop an understanding of normal human biology and its relationship to the practice of medicine. Instruction in physiology, genetics, biochemistry, anatomy, histology, and neuroscience present the scientific core of the physician's knowledge base. At the same time, the students' advancing scientific knowledge is integrated with clinical applications. In coordinated experiences, students interview patients in the patients' homes, in hospitals, and in other health care settings and learn to take patients' histories and conduct physical examinations. Courses in human behavior and ethics focus on the physician's role in thepractice of medicine.