During Year I, students are introduced to three modules that continue through the four-year experience. Standardized patients help teach and test clinical skills. They learn how to start IVs and draw blood, do casting, suturing, CPR, first aid, and explore other practical skills. Using standardized patient encounters, students refine their history, physical and communication skills. Furthermore, they use these encounters to practice presenting patients in mock attending rounds, write progress notes, orders, and communicate with other health care providers.
Students also see hospitalized patients which serve as an orientation to hospital care.
In the fourth year, students rotate on hospital based clerkships that prepare them for residency and practice. During both the third and fourth years, basic science material is revisited in the context of the student's clinical experience. Students participate in a Journal Club over the entire four years of study. The Journal Club introduces students to methods of searching for information and information management and helps them to develop the critical analytical skills necessary to evaluate the ever-growing medical literature. The College faculty and administration insure that the students are prepared to deal with these hazards and are instructed about precautions that will minimize their exposure to contagious diseases and environmental hazards.