Classes begin in the fall of year 1. By using 35 weeks of study the first year and 48 weeks every year after that, each student will have the opportunity to earn the credits necessary for both a baccalaureate and a medical degree. This six-year continuum does not make an arbitrary separation between liberal arts and professional education. This initial two-year period allows students adequate time to determine whether they are motivated enough to continue in medicine. At the same time, the faculty of the School of Medicine will have adequate opportunity to judge whether each student has the characteristics and capabilities necessary for a career in medicine.
Special attention is given to the effect of illness on the patient, the family and the community.
There is emphasis on the coordination of effort, or team approach, to the solution of medical and health care problems. The courses will integrate patient interviews and examinations with branches of science fundamental to clinical medicine, including anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, psychology and sociology. These courses have certain coordinated objectives, each of which represents an important component in the general concept of medicine as applied human biology. An important feature of the School of Medicine program is the early and continuing contact of the student with a team of scholars called docents. Each is a full-time physician responsible for the education of a small group of students.