MD PROGRAM
Courses
The First 100 Weeks of our student-centered curriculum is comprised of seven integrated courses – CPR, BI, FTB, HOM, IE, HMI, HC and additional curricular initiatives.
From the Person to the Professional: Challenges, Privileges and Responsibilities (CPR) provides the setting for students to begin the transformation from a student to a professional.
The CPR course is constructed upon the framework of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) curriculum.
The EMT curriculum has been expanded in the depth and breadth of its content to include advanced scientific and clinical concepts appropriate to its central role in the first course of medical school. Stemming from an EMT curriculum allows students to develop a usable clinical skill set from the earliest days, gain experience working with different health care professionals, and appreciate patients and their illnesses in the context of their communities and homes.
During this course, foundational systems-based physiology, structural sciences, and pharmacology are integrated with clinical skills, including communications, history-taking, physical examination, and the use of bedside ultrasound.
During CPR, students are introduced to anatomical donors, PEARLS and the various pedagogies used in the curriculum and develop insight into the importance of learning objectives, assessment, and reflection to build a strong foundation for the deliberate practice of medicine.
The Biologic Imperative integrates the process of proliferation at its two fundamental levels, the cell and the organism.
Through a series of carefully crafted PEARLS cases and patient-based sessions, the course builds a story of how regulation of cellular proliferation controls both the growth of an individual and the ability of an individual to procreate.
The course highlights the importance of the process of proliferation in disease, with each week introducing examples of pathogenic states resulting from aberrations in the process. Among these pathogenic states, a particular focus is placed on the structural principles of neoplasia and metastatic potential, including the impact on patient suffering as a result of these processes. Students partake in dissection of the pelvis, progressing to an in depth study of both male and female reproductive structure as well as a series of developmental anatomy sessions focusing on embryogenesis.
Complementing the science, students further develop clinical examination, communication skills and ultrasound techniques related to the male GU and female pelvic examinations. Students are introduced to their ICE community preceptors and begin interacting with patients in Medicine and Ob/Gyn ambulatory practices.
Fueling the Body (FTB) integrates how the body acquires essential nutrients, the structures that are involved in the processing of the nutrients for proper digestion and absorption, as well as the metabolic mechanisms that enable the cells to utilize these nutrients.
The course unfolds through a series of PEARLS cases that illustrate how cells in the body are fueled. The course highlights the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) as requirements for energy metabolism. Normal nutrition and extremes of nutrition (malnutrition and obesity) are explored through their impact on the individual patient and on population health in general.
Study of the normal physiology of these organ systems and their roles in digestion and absorption of nutrients is integrated with exploration of the mechanisms by which diseases disrupt gastrointestinal function. Structure laboratory experience includes the anatomy and dissection of the abdomen and its inter-related structures, accompanied by a more detailed clinical analysis of the abdomen through CT and bedside ultrasound medical imaging and the underlying pathologic processes represented. Biopsychosocial and clinical aspects of metabolic and gastrointestinal health and disease complement the students’ learning of normal and abnormal metabolism.
During ICE, students continue interacting with patients in Medicine and Ob/Gyn ambulatory practices and in addition have surgical ICE experiences
Continuity and Change: Homeostasis is a course organized around the interrelationships between the cardiac, pulmonary and renal systems from the cellular to the organismal level.
While each system is examined independently, the interaction among the three for the maintenance of homeostasis is an overarching concept. The relationship of structure to function is one lens through which this is examined. Structure lab approaches cardiac, pulmonary and renal anatomy and dissection in the context of pathologic processes such as hypertension, thrombosis, ischemia, and smoking.
Since vasculature is an important common ground for the function of each individual system in relationship to many others, vascular biology is an additional focal point in this course. The molecular and cellular mechanisms supporting hemostasis and thrombosis are examined, as are their pathological consequences. Because the curricular content parallels the medicine practice so well, the integration between scientific and clinical learning is a true highlight of this course. Students continue their clinical experiences with their medicine and ob-gyn ICE preceptors.
Interacting with the Environment (IE) presents how the human organism, whose immune system co-evolved with its microbial partners, maintains homeostasis.
Normal immune function is contrasted to immune dysfunction including immune deficiencies, hypersensitivity, and autoimmunity. The dynamics of immune modulation are investigated by evaluating the pharmacology of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory medications. The clinical applications of immunology are further extended during an introduction to rheumatology, which is paired with the study of the musculoskeletal system. Structure lab provides the venue for detailed anatomical study of the limbs, and is aligned with sessions on the musculoskeletal examination and bedside ultrasound.
The clinical applications of immunology are further extended during an introduction to rheumatology, which is paired with the study of the musculoskeletal system. Students are introduced to the core principles of dermatology crossing between dermatopathology and clinical diagnosis. Complementing the science, students are introduced to their community Pediatric preceptor, and are guided through how to communicate, examine and evaluate pediatric patients, aligning with their experiences in ICE.
Host-Microbe Interactions (HMI) explores the contribution of microorganisms to maintaining health and causing disease.
The course begins with an overview of the fundamentals of bacteriology, virology, mycology, and parasitology. Additional focus is placed on the role of the microbiome in maintaining human homeostasis. This is followed by a systems-based approach to covering infectious diseases. Emphasis is placed on the mechanisms by which pathogenic microbes evade the immune system and subvert normal host cellular functions. Pharmacological principles of antimicrobial therapy are covered throughout the course. HMI links to the next course, The Human Condition, by concluding with infections of the central nervous system.
The Human Condition(HC) provides an integrated presentation of the factors that make us uniquely human. The course addresses the development, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and structure of the central and peripheral nervous system from the cellular to the organismic level.
The course is a journey through the structure and function of the neuroaxis. We address our ability to transduce information, conduct it along peripheral nerves and send it through the spinal cord, to the brain. In the opposite direction, motor function and coordination are tracked from the cortex to the muscle, paying attention to modifying factors that can affect it along the way.
We explore the pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches to sensory dysfunction (including pain and the special senses) and motor dysfunction (including disorders of tone and strength).
The neuropsychiatric section is an important component of the course, preceded by an overview of the limbic system. The approach to psychiatric function and illness begins with basic principles of psychiatry and human cognitive development and transitions into specific psychiatric disorders presented from a clinical diagnostic and interventional perspective, with attention to what is known about the underlying pathophysiology of these disorders. Psychiatry is the final clinical experience provided in ICE to the students in this course, the Human Condition.
Structure labs are dedicated to both gross and microscopic neuroanatomy, the special senses, and head and neck anatomy, with an added focus on neuro-imaging. All are aligned with several sessions for learning the complete neurologic examination.