Transition to Medical School
This first course is designed to help you transition to the rigor and expectations of medical school and give you the skills for success.
Biomedical Courses
The biomedical sciences are presented as an integrated curriculum of thirteen courses over the first 20 months of medical school. Traditional discipline-based content such as biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology are presented in a unified approach that emphasizes clinical relevance. Courses are designed around functions and organ-based systems, and guide you through normal processes as well as the pathophysiology of disease and therapeutic interventions. All course content is anchored to relevant clinical applications that include team-based learning exercises.
Biomedical science faculty include a core of dedicated full-time medical educators with extensive experience teaching the undergraduate medical curriculum. These basic science faculty work closely with clinical faculty in the design and delivery of curriculum content. This collaboration ensures that you are exposed to the most current and relevant material that prepares you to be successful in clinical rotations and throughout your career.
- Didactic Sessions
There are 5-7 hours of traditional lectures each week with both basic science and clinical faculty delivering information. Live streaming and recordings of lectures are provided.
- Independent Learning Modules
We use interactive electronic materials to provide required independent learning resources, which allows you flexibility to choose when you study, and also provides opportunities for review of the material. The digital modules include videos, diagrams, links to journal articles and electronic textbooks, and quizzes to check your learning progress. Each week has several required independent learning resources.
- Labs
Anatomy, histology, and pathology labs are held approximately weekly for one-half day and integrate gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, and pathology with the concepts of the current course. Gross anatomy is taught longitudinally as you progress through the organ systems using prosected cadavers, student dissection, plasticized specimens, virtual dissectors, and models. Microscopic anatomy and pathology also are taught longitudinally, using virtual microscopy resources.
- Medical First Responder (MFR)
In the first few months of medical school, you will experience MFR — a fast-paced, hands-on training where you obtain the skills and knowledge to perform basic patient assessments, manage simple medical emergencies, and provide basic cardiac life support. During the Capstone, you and your colleagues are challenged to respond to a wide variety of simulated emergency conditions. You apply your new skills under very realistic conditions requiring effective teamwork to be successful.
- Simulation-Based Learning
Simulation-based learning begins in the very first week at WMed. Simulation activities range from learning to perform a wide range of medical procedures, to full immersion in complex team-based clinical scenarios using high-fidelity patient simulators, to one-on-one encounters with standardized patients. This level of simulation training throughout your time at WMed prepares you for clinical rotations and your future career. Check out the WMed Simulation Center.
- Team-Based Learning (TBL)
Each TBL starts with an individual readiness assurance test (iRAT) based on weekly coursework and assigned pre-reading. Following the iRAT and working in groups of approximately six, student teams work through the same questions in a team readiness assurance test (tRAT). The team responses are reviewed with faculty to ensure that everyone understands the concepts and clinical applications. Faculty then lead the groups through application exercises, where realistic clinical scenarios are discussed integrating basic science and clinical perspectives. TBLs engage students throughout the learning process, increasing understanding and retention. You participate in 1-2 TBL sessions each week.
Longitudinal Courses
Each term during the Foundations of Medicine phase you will participate in four longitudinal courses that will provide development in the communication, physical examination, cultural competency, advocacy, ethics, and research skills required of a physician.
- Clinical Skills
Clinical Skills gives you the opportunity to learn and practice skills physicians use every day including communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork, history taking, physical examination, and simple procedures. You begin applying these skills in our virtual clinic with standardized patients and in our virtual hospital with high-fidelity patient simulators. You work closely with the coaching of Clinical Skills Educators in a low-stress environment to prepare you to succeed in the real clinical environment. Clinical Skills is scheduled for four hours each week.
Clinical Experiences (CE)
Clinical Experiences (CE) provides early and regular experiences to understand the breadth of medicine. You begin your professional identity formation as you gain comfort in clinical settings. CE brings relevancy to the knowledge you acquire in the basic science curriculum as you integrate it with experiences in clinical medicine.
CE experiences include following a panel of patients across several months of care, interprofessional learning with a variety of medical and allied healthcare providers, and hands-on learning from physician preceptors in a primary care setting where you gain experience taking histories, performing physical examinations, and presenting your findings to clinical faculty preceptors.
- Disease, Disparities, and Justice
This series of courses seeks to explore the theoretical foundations of health equity. Each course will be interactive, virtual, and asynchronous, meaning students will be able to proceed through them at their own pace. Typically, students would complete one course per semester. The content will consist of readings, brief lectures, and interactive exercises while assessments will consist of short quizzes and case analyses.
- Engagement and Discovery
You are part of a team working directly with an affiliated community organization whose mission is related to health, well-being, and service for residents of Kalamazoo County. This service learning fosters your understanding of social determinants of health as well as advocacy, team-based skills, population health, and cultural competence. Your group may design a community project that will benefit the organization and the clients they serve.
- Principles of Medicine
Principles of Medicine covers health systems science and additional topics related to the practice of medicine. Themes include professionalism, leadership, ethics, advocacy, patient safety, health policy, healthcare law, research design, epidemiology, and more. It is a longitudinal curriculum spanning all four years of medical school.
Early Electives
During the pre-clinical phase of the curriculum, you may take one-week electives to explore your individual areas of interest. The list of current electives is housed in our course catalog, dependent upon elective director availability, and assigned via lottery.
Examinations
- Weekly formative exams provide individual feedback on your learning progress. Faculty are available to address questions about material, which provides an opportunity for you to better understand the concepts throughout the course.
- At the end of each course a summative exam is administered. Capstone review sessions with faculty prior to the exam assist with your preparation.
- Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are held in the Clinical Skills longitudinal course to prepare you for patient interactions during your clinical rotations.
- During the Foundations of Medicine Curriculum, you have multiple opportunities to take the NBME Comprehensive Science Self-Assessment (CBSSA). This exam helps you assess your learning needs and provide guidance to prepare for successfully passing USMLE Step 1. You must meet a competency requirement on the CBSSA to take Step 1 and advance to core clerkships.
Transition to Clinical Applications
This course is a bridge between Foundations of Medicine and your core clerkships, and prepares you to succeed in the clinical setting. You gain more experience using electronic health records and learn more about expectations in the clinical setting, clinical assessments, and common procedures.
Unscheduled Time
There is time each week that is unscheduled and allows for independent and group study. Additionally, all students have free access to our onsite fitness center. A wide variety of student interest groups are also available to get involved with to explore your interests.