Pre-Clerkship Curriculum (Year 2)

The second year begins in late June and extends through February of the following year with two major blocks of organ-system pathophysiology courses.  Longitudinal courses in systemic pathology, pharmacology, and Doctoring are integrated with the organ systems modules.

Brain and Behavior (Block 3)

An integrated neurosciences curriculum covering neuroanatomy, clinical neurology, psychopathology, with integration of neuropharmacology, neuropathology, and clinical skills.  The Foundations of Ethics course builds on core principles presented in the first year.

Pathophysiology (Block 4)

An integrated organ systems pathophysiology block covering integumentary, musculoskeletal and rheumatology (3 wks),  hematology (3 wks), oncology (1 wk), cardiology and pulmonary (6 weeks), nephrology (4 weeks), and gastroenterology (3 weeks) in a sequential fashion.  Systemic pathology, pharmacology and Doctoring are integrated with concurrent courses.

Doctoring 2 (Blocks 3-4)

The Doctoring 2 curriculum runs throughout the two blocks and focuses on clinical skills, clinical reasoning, health care systems, and patient assessment. Standardized patient cases, subspecialty physical exam workshops, and clinical coaching sessions are integrated with concurrent pathophysiology courses. Students are assigned to preceptorships in the hospital setting where they learn how to perform and document comprehensive patient assessments.

Feedback and Assessment

All of the second year courses utilize periodic review sessions, midterms, and comprehensive final examinations.  The Doctoring course uses a competency-based framework to design evaluation tools to assess second year milestones (small group evaluation, preceptor evaluations,  objective structured clinical exams).

The second year ends with a six week block that is used by most students to study for the USMLE Step 1 exam.