This tab contains a graphical depiction of the curriculum for this track. The information is also available in a much-easier-to-understand text format by using this on-page link.
Transition to Medical School
One week in the middle of July
This course, the first students attend at Penn State College of Medicine, is designed to help them make the transition to medical education and training and to begin to build some of the skills necessary for success in medical school and a career in medicine. The transition to medical school is a very important time in the life of every doctor – no longer in college or a master’s program, striving for high grades as an end in and of themselves, or as a ticket to gaining admission to medical school.
These first weeks mark that time when medical students join the collegial ranks of the profession, and medical school represents the first step of on-the-job training. The Transitions series continues throughout the medical school curriculum as students transition into clinical rotations and prepare for residency.
Scientific Principles of Medicine
End of July to mid-September
This course provides a wide-range of scientific knowledge that underlies medical practice. Relevant material for SPM is drawn from biochemistry, physiology, histology, genetics, cell biology, molecular biology and hematology. In addition, fundamental concepts of pharmacology are introduced. Because of the breadth and depth of material presented in this course, SPM is a team-taught course involving faculty with multiple expertise. As a consequence of this diversity, you will be exposed to a number of different teaching philosophies.
Foundations of Health Humanities
End of July to end of October
Foundations of Health Humanities is focused on introducing habits of mind, core knowledge, and skills that students will use throughout all four years of medical school. Primary goals will be to address how cultural contexts affect medicine and health care (and vice versa), and how to think and act critically, ethically and with cultural humility in a pluralistic society. The course also focuses on issues of pressing social interest, including structural inequities like racism in medicine, justice and unconscious bias.
Science of Health Systems
Mid-July through mid-June, with breaks
This longitudinal course spans the full medical school experience with the main focus in Phase 1 and Phase 2. The Science of Health Systems curriculum provides students with the foundations of health systems science, including health care structure and process; health system improvement; value in health care; population, public and social determinants of health; clinical informatics and health technology; health care policy and economics; and teamwork, leadership and advocacy.
A key component of the longitudinal health systems curriculum is the patient navigation program. As patient navigators in their first year of study, students begin learning about health care delivery in the clinical setting by serving as guides, helping patients navigate through the often complicated health care process. Both the curriculum and patient navigator experience allow students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to function effectively amid the complexities of an evolving health system.
Foundations of Patient-Centered Care
Mid-July through mid-June, with breaks
Foundations of Patient-Centered Care (FPCC) is a longitudinal course that spans Phase 1 of medical school training at Penn State College of Medicine. It is administered within a student’s respective Society and integrated with other courses. In FPCC, students learn communication, professionalism, history-taking, physical examination, oral presentations, written documentation and clinical reasoning. The primary goal of FPCC is to prepare students to skillfully communicate, interview, examine and assess patients during the third and fourth years of medical school (and throughout their careers). Coursework, facilitated by Society adviser coaches, includes small group and standardized patient sessions held in the College of Medicine classrooms, as well as applied clinical skills sessions held in inpatient or outpatient settings. This combination of classroom and clinical settings provides students the opportunity to apply learned skills to actual patient encounters.
Host Defense/Host Response
Mid-September to early November
The Host Defense/Host Response (HDHR) course addresses how the body maintains wellness and responds to threats. The primary learning goals focus on concepts in microbiology and infectious disease, immunology and oncology. This eight-week integrated course spans September to November of the Phase I first year. Problem-based learning (PBL) serves as the course’s backbone, complemented by large-group interactive sessions, patient encounters and clinical reasoning sessions. There are also opportunities to integrate Health Systems Science, Health Humanities and frontiers of inquiry to add perspective and depth to the learning experience.
Observation and Interpretation
November to mid-December
Observation and Interpretation emphasizes the power and importance of observation and interpretation in the practice of medicine. Using works of fine art — painting, music, writing, photography, dance, drama — students will be challenged to refine their observational and analytical skills and to communicate their impressions and findings to others, a process similar to differential diagnosis. Experiencing the arts leads to empathy for the human condition and for individuals.
CardioRespiratory Medicine and Anatomy
Mid-November through mid-February, with breaks
The CardioRespiratory and Anatomy course is the students’ first intensive exposure to integrative physiology. Cardio-Respiratory Medicine requires mastery of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology, anatomy, embryology, histology, pathology, immunology and pharmacology, as well as the clinical science underlying cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
Lectures and problem-based learning cases are augmented by hands-on EKG sessions, training in the techniques of cardiac physical examination, workshops, lung and heart sounds simulations and a ventilation simulation laboratory. Cardiovascular disease remains a leading killer of Americans and lung disease is prevalent; knowledge gained here will be useful throughout your entire medical career.
Humanities in Context
Mid-January to mid-June, with breaks
Humanities in Context seeks to develop students’ humanistic sensitivity, which includes ethical sensitivity, narrative disposition, critical consciousness and navigating complexity and uncertainty. The course will be aligned with the PBL/organ system courses.
Renal Medicine
Mid-February to mid-March
The course provides an introduction to the physiology, anatomy, pharmacology, microbiology and pathology of the kidneys and urinary tract. Topics include the relationship between structure and function of urinary system; fluid, electrolyte and acid/base homeostasis in health and disease; etiology and manifestations of common diseases of the kidneys; and cellular processes that mediate the actions of pharmacological agents active in the urinary system.
Form and Function and Anatomy
Mid-March through early May
This course has four major and overlapping components: anatomy, rheumatology, orthopedics and dermatology. The course integrates dermatology, immunology, family medicine (sports medicine), internal medicine (rheumatology), orthopedics, pathology and pediatrics (rheumatology). The subject matter is linked as joint disease connects orthopedics and rheumatology and immunology connects rheumatology and dermatology. The lecture content and problem-based learning cases will help to illustrate the “connectedness” of this block of material.
Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology and Nutrition and Anatomy
Early May through mid-June
This course provides exposure to the foundational basic science and advanced concepts necessary to understand the approaches used to diagnose, treat and manage disorders of nutrition, the oropharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large bowel, pancreas, biliary system and liver. Foundational material will include integrative physiology of these organs.
The students will develop the ability to differentially diagnose, describe treatments, and review management of nutritional disorders and support as well as diseases of the GI organs and liver. The pathogenesis, pathology, differential diagnosis, clinical course and complications of GI and liver diseases will be covered, along with aspects of clinical management, especially the pharmacology of drugs used to treat them. The course will augment large-group classroom learning opportunities with problem-based learning, wet laboratory and simulation laboratory experiences.
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
May
This exam allows students to practice and demonstrate clinical skills in a standardized medical scenario. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate competency in communication, history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, medical knowledge, and integration of these skills. It is meant to be a fair and accurate way to assess competence, as well as identify areas that need more work and practice.
Medical Student Research
Years 1 and 2
Throughout Years 1 and 2, students have the opportunity to do research for the Medical Student Research project.
Acceleration Clerkships/Electives
January through August
This is the time when students will be accelerating their education to allow them to finish in three years.
Additional Pathway Courses
January Year 1 through December Year 2
Additional pathway courses could include a Career Confirmation Elective, Longitudinal Elective, Longitudinal Medicine Clerkship, the Medical Home Longitudinal Course, and/or the Longitudinal Neuroscience Clerkship, depending upon which pathway a student is enrolled in.
This tab contains a graphical depiction of the curriculum for this track. The information is also available in a much-easier-to-understand text format by using this on-page link.
Medical Student Research
Years 1 and 2
Throughout Years 1 and 2, students have the opportunity to do research for the Medical Student Research project.
Science of Health Systems
August through December, with breaks
This longitudinal course spans the full medical school experience with the main focus in Phases 1 and 2. In this new health systems component, students will experience a new Science of Health Systems curriculum, where they will learn the foundations of health systems, health care delivery, financing, insurance, population and public health, socio-ecological medicine, quality, safety, value, and teamwork and leadership. Additionally, students will serve as patient navigators within the health system. Both the curriculum and patient navigator experience will allow students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to function effectively amid the complexities of an evolving health system.
Foundations of Patient-Centered Care
August through December, with breaks
This course, which spans Phases I and II of medical school training at Penn State College of Medicine, is administered within each student’s respective Society and is integrated with other first- and second-year courses. The course consists of three components: communication/clinical interviewing, physical examination, and integration, application and advancement teaching sessions.
Endocrinology/Reproductive Medicine and Anatomy
August through September
The goal of this course is to learn about the general principles, physiology actions, causes and consequences of insufficiency or excess chemical messengers that function as hormones. These principles are then incorporated into the anatomy, histology and physiology of the female and male reproductive system, including pregnancy. Basic disease processes and therapeutics, including pharmacology, are also covered.
Communication
August through December, with breaks
Communication focuses on exploring assumptions and biases that impact communication and communicating in dyads, teams, and larger systems.
Neural and Behavioral Science and Anatomy
Early October to December, with breaks
NBS incorporates basic neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurology, neuropathology, neuropharmacology, anesthesia, ophthalmology, radiology, behavioral science, and psychiatry. The goal is for students to understand the structure of the human nervous system, the biological mechanisms that underlie the functions of the nervous system, the neural basis of behavior, and the diagnosis, pathology and treatment of diseases that affect the nervous system by incorporating these topics with clinical relevance. The course also includes pathology wet labs and Neurology Day, where students interact in small groups with about 14 patients who have various neurological disorders.
Clerkships
Beginning at end of February
Required core clinical clerkships begin toward the end of Year 2. Clerkships are taught in two blocks. See clerkship details here.
- Block 1 clerkships are March of Year 2 through August of Year 3.
- Block 2 clerkships are September through mid-March of Year 3.
Humanities in Clerkships
Twice monthly during clerkships, March of Year 2 through mid-March of Year 3
The Kienle Professional Seminars are part of a broader Humanities stripe across the entire Penn State curriculum. In Kienle groups, which are co-led by faculty and senior medical students, clerkship students reflect on the professional and personal aspects of being a clerkship student, treating patients and making career decisions. Kienle meetings occur twice monthly throughout the course of the clerkship year.
Health Systems in Clerkships
Throughout all clerkships
Health systems is embedded in the clerkships.
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
December
This exam allows students to practice and demonstrate clinical skills in a standardized medical scenario. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate competency in communication, history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, medical knowledge, and integration of these skills. It is meant to be a fair and accurate way to assess competence, as well as identify areas that need more work and practice.
USMLE Study
Upon completion of Phase I, students are given a dedicated study period for USMLE I.
Acceleration Clerkships/Electives/Acting Internships
July through end of Year 2
This is the time when students will be accelerating their education to allow them to finish in three years.
Clerkships
End of February Year 2 through mid-March of Year 3
Required core clinical clerkships begin toward the end of Year 2 and continue in Year 3. Clerkships are taught in two blocks. See clerkship details here.
- Block 1 clerkships are March of Year 2 through August of Year 3.
- Block 2 clerkships are September through mid-March of Year 3.
Humanities in Clerkships
Twice monthly during clerkships, March of Year 2 through mid-March of Year 3
The Kienle Professional Seminars are part of a broader Humanities stripe across the entire Penn State curriculum. In Kienle groups, which are co-led by faculty and senior medical students, clerkship students reflect on the professional and personal aspects of being a clerkship student, treating patients, and making career decisions. Kienle meetings occur twice monthly throughout the course of the clerkship year.
Health Systems in Clerkships
Throughout all clerkships
Heath systems is embedded in the clerkships.
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
Mid-March
This exam allows students to practice and demonstrate clinical skills in a standardized medical scenario. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate competency in communication, history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, medical knowledge, and integration of these skills. It is meant to be a fair and accurate way to assess competence, as well as identify areas that need more work and practice.
Electives and Acting Internships
End of February Year 2 through end of April Year 3
This is the time when students will be accelerating their education to allow them to finish in three years.
USMLE study
January of Year 3
Upon completion of Phase II clerkships, students are given a four-week dedicated study period for USMLE II CK.
Phase III: Residency Prep
Starting summer between Year 1 and 2
Students enter Phase III: Residency Prep following USMLE Board Prep. This portion of the phase includes the Translating Health Systems course, where students apply learned health systems principles. This time provides students with opportunities to refine knowledge and skills as they prepare for entry into residency. This includes a variety of electives, two acting internships and a Humanities selective. The phase is completed by the capstone course, Transition to Internship, followed by graduation.
Translating Health Systems
Two weeks at end of March
Phase III begins with a two-week Translating Health Systems intersession. This course is designed to help students apply concepts of patient safety, quality improvement, value and teams to the clinical setting. It provides students with opportunities to actively identify patient safety issues and develop a quality improvement project proposal. By design, this course emphasizes teamwork, an essential component in providing quality patient care. The goal is to guide learning in these concepts so that students will have the base knowledge to help improve care of their patients and the health system in which they will work during the fourth year of medical school and in residencies.
Transition to Internship
Beginning of May
The Transition to Internship course occurs at the end of each student’s medical school career and builds on these concepts in preparation for residency training. Transition to Internship is the final requirement for each graduating medical school class, taking place just prior to medical school graduation. Its structure includes both large group workshops (involving the entire fourth-year class) and a number of small group “selective” sessions. Transition to Internship was designed with goals of providing review and practice of key clinical skills and concepts, as well as introduction of new information regarding communication and collaboration with other health professionals, teaching and evaluation strategies for interns in their educator roles and practice in effective patient handoffs. The course also includes time for reflection on professional responsibilities, personal stressors and individual support systems.
Graduation
Mid-May