Office of Student Admissions

Phase I

Phase I of the curriculum lasts approximately 20 months and employs learning methods which feature a variety of approaches including small group, problem-based tutorials, lectures, seminars, and laboratories. The curriculum is organized around organ systems, each incorporating three perspectives - biologic, behavioral, and population. Hands-on medical skills are gained through weekly clinical skills and laboratory sessions. Students have the opportunity to apply these skills in a weekly continuity clinic. About half of each week's time is open so that students can utilize learning resources appropriate for their individual needs. Some of these resources include use of the library, faculty consultation, computer-assisted instruction, self-assessment exercises, and community visits.

Practical Immersions Experience (PIE)

The Practical Immersion Experience (PIE) is a nine (9) week clinical experience in which students have the opportunity view medicine from a community perspective and to see the impact of being a physician on one's life and lifestyle.

Continuity Clinic

Each student participates in a Continuity Clinic experience one afternoon per week starting in January and continuing through April in Year I and again in September through December in Year II. These experiences provide integrated activities that focus on sequential skill-building opportunities that include the biological, population and behavioral perspectives.

Continuity experiences continue throughout all four years, allowing students to develop long-term relationships with patients, families, multi-disciplinary health care teams and mentors.

Perspectives in Medicine

The Perspectives in Medicine (PIM) course is required for all Phase I and Phase II medical students. The PIM course helps provide students a place to discuss the difficult issues that both doctors and patients face. Though many of the topics involve ethical or moral dilemmas, PIM is not a formal course in ethics. It is structured in a way to try to foster a supportive environment to discuss difficult situations and to transmit information about medical education and medical care.

PIM sessions are generally small groups with students from the first three years of school and two or three faculty advisors. Most facilitators are MD faculty, but there are also some practicing physicians, basic scientists and behavioral health practitioners. It is important to remember that there are laws that govern many of the difficult dilemmas that doctors face, as well as ethical principles that must be learned to practice optimally. While PIM itself doesn't give tests over these content areas, there will be test questions that address professionalism and ethics issues on the formative and summative examinations.