Block Courses Overview

The Essential Core constitutes the first 18 months of medical school and consists of 9 interdisciplinary block courses organized around central themes or systems. Foundations of Patient Care (FPC), a longitudinal clinical and interviewing skills course, runs for both years. Each of the other block courses tackles a major biological theme; the basic and clinical sciences relevant to this theme are intertwined with other aspects of the practice of medicine, including public health, epidemiology, and the social and behavioral sciences.

The Essential Core provides many opportunities for active and collaborative learning. The curriculum also fosters each student's professional stake in learning. Students are responsible for small group preparation and attendance. Evaluations of courses and faculty are also part of students' professional commitment.

First-Year Blocks

• Prologue: an introduction to essential anatomy, biochemistry,
  pharmacology, histopathology, genetics, and social and
  behavioral sciences, all linked together as a foundation for patient care.
• Major Organ Systems: an integrated approach to investigating the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal systems.
• Metabolism & Nutrition (M & N): an investigation of the gastrointestinal system, endocrinology, and metabolic issues, with additional emphasis on prevention of disorders in these areas and on counseling for nutritional health.
• Brain, Mind & Behavior (BMB): a comprehensive overview of general principles in neuroscience, neurology, and psychiatry.
  

Second-Year Blocks

• Infection, Inflammation & Immunity (I-3) : the first block of the second-year, covering microbiology, immunology, and infectious disease as well as public and international health issues.
• Mechanisms, Methods & Malignancies (M-3): an integrated and innovative look at human cancer, with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that underlie cancer development and treatment; epidemiology; pathology; genetics; clinical oncology; hematology; social and behavioral sciences and ethics.
• Life Cycle/Epilogue: a study of the human developmental sequence, considering special topics in childhood and adolescent medicine, men's and women's health, and aging. One day a week, in the Epilogue component, students review and integrate concepts presented earlier in the Essential Core through case-based study in large and small groups.
  

First- and Second-Year Block

• Foundations of Patient Care (FPC): a block that spans the entire Essential Core, covering clinical skills, professional development, and clinical reasoning.
  
  • Clinical Interlude: a three-day immersion in the hospital setting that provides students their first in-patient experience. This is part of Foundations of Patient Care Year I and takes place the three days before winter break.