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Program of Study

Broadly stated, the educational objectives of the School of Medicine are:

• To educate students intensively and broadly in the clinical and scientific aspects of medicine.
• To prepare students to engage in a lifetime of learning in order that they may successfully adapt to a changing world.
• To achieve a high level of professional competence and social awareness.
• To provide opportunities for students at every level of training to pursue areas of special interest for intellectual stimulation and/or career advancement.
• To encourage the development of highly competent primary care physicians, clinical specialists and scholars in basic and clinical research, teaching, and academic administration.

Curriculum

First and Second Years: The freshman year begins with a nine-day introduction that includes orientation, informatics and the start of the Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM) course. This initial time is spent getting the students comfortable in the role of medical student and beginning the process of becoming a physician. ICM continues throughout the first two years of medical school and includes such topics as Human Sexuality, Interviewing, Physical Diagnosis, Medical Ethics, and Medical Economics. The initial introductory period is followed by a nine-week block on Structure and Development, which offers a comprehensive overview on the morphological and developmental organization of the body, including the traditional disciplines of anatomy, histology, and embryology. Following this, a nine-week block, Cell and Molecular Biology, presents the fundamentals of biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology and human genetics and correlates them with clinical issues. Functional Systems, which includes the major principles of human physiology and the clinical correlations of these, follows for ten weeks, and then six weeks of neuroscience completes the first year. Neuroscience covers both structural and functional aspects of the nervous system.

The integrated curriculum continues in the second year when sophomore students take three blocks which include Host Defenses and Infectious Diseases (10 weeks) and Pathophysiology and Therapeutics I and II (for a total of 24 weeks). Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, organized by body systems, contains neuroscience and psychiatry, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, reproductive, pulmonary, renal, endocrine, neoplasia, locomotive and hemopoietic sections. The sophomore year is characterized by two hours of lecture per day, and two hours of small group or laboratory per day. Introduction to Clinical Medicine continues with a primary focus on Physical Diagnosis. Passage of Step I of the United States Medical Licensure Examination is required for proceeding to the clinical years.

Third and Fourth Years: The two clinical years are viewed as a single unit with the student assuming progressive responsibility for patient care. The clinical experience consists of the following clerkships: Medicine (12 weeks), Surgery (12 weeks), Family Medicine (4 weeks), Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (6 weeks), Pediatrics (6 weeks), Psychiatry (4 weeks), and Neurology (4 weeks). As noted, students take all of these rotations according to individual schedules. The sum of these experiences provides a 48-week introduction to clinical science. Students are evaluated based on clinical performance and end-of-clerkship examinations. Approximately one third of the third year is spent in ambulatory care settings.

The 32-week fourth year that follows includes four additional four-week electives. The student may take a maximum of eight weeks of electives off-campus. Eight weeks must be spent in student sub-internships in one of four clinical fields: medicine, surgery, pediatrics or family practice. Here the student has an opportunity for direct, primary patient care responsibility over a prolonged period of time. These rotations are offered at the University of Maryland Medical Center and in approved affiliated hospitals. The third component of the fourth year is a consecutive eight-week experience in an ambulatory setting. The ambulatory rotation is designed to be completed in a rural or underserved area supplemented by teaching in preventive medicine.

The 80-week combined clinical years program provides a strong grounding in clinical science with a progressive opportunity for primary patient care responsibility. The curriculum is designed to prepare the medical student for the increasing responsibility demanded by the specialty residency programs throughout the country.

The Curriculum Coordinating Committee, composed of course and clerkship leaders, key faculty educators and student body representatives, has the responsibility of regularly monitoring and reviewing the curriculum and recommending changes deemed appropriate.

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Curriculum at a Glance

CURRICULUM ORGANIZATION

Year I	37 weeks
COURSE	TITLE
I (9 Days)	ORIENTATION
	Informatics, Introduction to Clinical Medicine
II (49 days)	STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
	Participating departments/divisions: Anatomy and Neurobiology, Surgery, Diagnostic Radiology
	Areas of study: Human gross anatomy, embryology and histology
III (44 days)	CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
	Participating departments/divisions: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medicine, Human Genetics, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Cancer Center
	Areas of study: Protein structure and function, cellular metabolic pathways, cell signal transduction, cell microanatomy, human genetics, molecular biology
III (49 days)	FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS
	Participating departments/divisions: Anesthesiology, Medicine, Neurology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Pediatrics, Physiology, Surgery
	Areas of study: Cell, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, renal, respiratory and integrative function
V (29 days)	NEUROSCIENCES
	Participating departments/divisions: Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Neurology, Physiology, Surgery
	Areas of study: Development, structure and function of nervous tissues, anatomical organization of CNS, sensory and motor systems, higher functions, concepts in clinical neurology
ICP (1/2 day per week and seleceted full days during the year)	INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
	Participating departments/divisions: Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Medicine, Surgery, Neurology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Emergency Medicine
	Areas of study: Ethics, nutrition, intimate human behavior, interviewing and physical diagnosis issues, topics relevant to delivery of primary care, doctor-patient relationship
Year II	34 weeks
COURSE	TITLE
I (52 days)	HOST DEFENSES AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
	Participating departments/divisions: Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
	Areas of study: Immunology, bacteriology, virology, parasitology, mycology
II (108 days)	PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS I and II
	Participating departments/divisions: Anesthesiology, Cancer Center, Dermatology, Diagnostic Radiology, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Psychiatry, Surgery
	Areas of study: Bone, cardiovascular, dermatology, endocrine, gastroenterology, hematology, nervous, pulmonary, renal and reproductive systems
ICM (1/2 day per week and selected full days throughout the year)	INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL MEDICINE
	Participating departments/divisions: Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
	Areas of study: Fundamental aspects of history-taking and physical examination, medical ethics, medical economics
Year III	48 weeks
	COURSE TITLE
12 weeks	Medicine
12 weeks	Surgery/Surgical Subspecialty
4 weeks	Family Medicine Clerkship
6 weeks	OB/GYN Clerkship
6 weeks	Pediatrics Clerkship
4 weeks	Psychiatry Clerkship
4 weeks	Neurology Clerkship
Year IV	32 weeks(tentative schedule)
	COURSE TITLE
8 weeks	AHEC - Area Health Education Center
8 weeks	Sub-Internship
16 weeks	Electives

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