Florida Administrative Code › 64 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › 64B8 - Board of Medicine › Chapter 64B8-15 - STANDARDS FOR CERTIFICATION OF FOREIGN MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS › Section 64B8-15.007 - Educational Program for the Professional Degree

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) The Educational Sequence in the United
				States.
(a) The system of medical education
				and practice in the United States differs from that of most other nations. To
				understand the basis of evaluation of foreign medical schools to determine
				reasonable comparability it is necessary to understand how students are
				educated to become physicians in the U.S.
(b) Most students complete twelve years of
				approximately nine months each prior to entering higher education in colleges
				or universities. The student prepares for entry into medical school by studying
				courses within a specified field designed for progressive learning. These
				include courses in the biological and physical sciences, the behavioral
				sciences, mathematics and the arts and letters. Upon completion of these
				studies requisite for the study of medicine the students present credentials of
				both potential and achievement to the medical school to which the student seeks
				admission.
(c) After admission to
				medical school, the student begins to study the basic medical sciences,
				including human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, microbiology
				and immunology, pathology and behavioral science. This phase of medical
				education requires approximately two years of 9-10 months each in most U.S.
				medical schools.
(d) In transition
				between study of the basic medical sciences and the study of clinical medicine,
				the student is introduced to the fundamentals of medical interviewing, physical
				examination, and diagnosis. Studies in the major fields of clinical medicine
				are then begun. Patients in the teaching hospital and in outpatient settings
				are the central focus of this educational phase. All students receive
				experiences in diagnosis and treatment of patients in the fields of medicine,
				surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and psychiatry where teaching
				and learning is intensive and centered on the patient. The student meanwhile is
				directly supervised by the clinical faculty. Senior faculty, junior faculty,
				senior residents (three or more years after medical school), junior residents
				(one or two years after medical school) and both third and fourth year medical
				students generally work as a team in caring for patients in each of the
				services.
(e) Additional exposure
				of the medical student to other medical and surgical specialties varies with
				career objectives but in all cases the medical student is involved in his
				studies and care of patients under direct faculty supervision. The total course
				of study leading to the M.D. degree in the U.S. is at least 130 weeks in
				length.
(f) The foregoing is
				intended to provide a description of the system of medical education as it
				generally occurs in the United States. In order to determine the extent of
				reasonable comparability of programs of medical education in schools other than
				those accredited by the LCME a detailed description is
				needed.