Medical Curriculum
Benchmark changes in the understanding of medical science and the practice of medicine have necessitated that the school change its methods of teaching, as well as its curriculum. Large changes were made in 1968, 1970, 1981, 1987, and 1997. The last significant change in 1997 brought about the institution of Curriculum 2000, "an integrated, multidisciplinary curriculum which emphasizes small group instruction, self directed learning and flexibility." Three themes, Science of Medicine, Art and Practice of Medicine, and Professionalism and Humanism, were developed by focus groups consisting of department chairpersons, course directors, and students.
The Doctor of Medicine (MD) curriculum is broken into six modules, each of which has its own courses:
- Core Principles
- Integrative Systems and Disease
- Technology and Practice of Medicine
- Required Clinical Clerkships
- Electives, Selectives, and Scholarly Pursuit
- Professionalism and Humanism
The MD program is a four-year program that can be described in relation to traditional semesters, with the modules for that semester and the courses taken for each. The first three semesters use about half the time for lectures and the other half for small group learning and problem-based learning.
- Semester 1
- Module 1: basic sciences, basic medical sciences, and gross anatomy
- Module 3: doctor-patient relationship, communication skills, and a longitudinal patient experience
- Module 6: cultural competencies
- Semesters 2, 3
- Module 2: organ systems-based courses
- Module 3: clinical decision making, health care systems, introduction to clinical medicine, longitudinal patient experience, differential diagnosis, and medical simulations
- Module 6: research ethics, doctoring, and communication
- Semesters 4, 5
- Module 4: required clinical clerkships
- Module 6: doctoring, communication, and patient safety
- Semesters 6, 7, 8
- Module 5: electives, selectives, "frontiers in medicine," (during which updates to medical science are discussed) and the required scholarly pursuit
- Module 6: communication, and bioethics
In addition to the MD curriculum, the school offers certificate programs in global health, women's health, community health, clinical neuroscience, and aging. There is also a combined degree option with the MD degree in combination with Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Bioethics (MBE), Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE), Master of Science in Translational Research (MTR), Master of Public Health (MPH), and Master of Science in Health Policy Research (MSHP). There also exists the option for an extra year to pursue various avenues, including research or finishing the requirements for a second degree.
Read more about this topic: Perelman School Of Medicine At The University Of Pennsylvania
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