This background serves as the foundation for building the knowledge and technical skills of a competent physician. The four-year medical school curriculum integrates basic science and clinical medicine to accomplish this mission. The basic sciences have been organized into conceptual or organ system modules that begin in Year I. Clinical paradigms demonstrate the importance of basic science knowledge. Utilizing clinical case material, students integrate their understanding of normal and abnormal in order to develop a logical approach for clinical care. 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.