Second-Year Curriculum
2002-2003 Catalog
| Course Clinical Medicine: Principles and Practices Medical Microbiology Medical Pharmacology Pathology |
Credits 3.5 2.0 1.5 3.0 |
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| Credit units should not be confused with traditional semester hours. One unit is approximately 100 contact hours. | ||
Clinical Medicine: Principles and Practices
The course provides a framework to facilitate the medical student's evolution into an excellent physician. The course serves as a transition from the basic science courses to the clinical clerkship year. The goal is to help the student acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to participate in the active care of patients in the context of a health-care team. The course addresses the pathophysiology of important diseases and the differential diagnosis of cardinal symptoms. The course will help the student become proficient in data gathering, clinical reasoning and judgment, and practical skills, as well as understanding and demonstrating an attitude of professionalism.The course includes educational and evaluative components. The educational components are designed to facilitate the student's learning through practicing the skills and applying the knowledge learned without being evaluated. The evaluative components provide two types of feedback to the student. Formative feedback occurs throughout the course and alerts the student to areas where improvement is necessary. Summative feedback occurs as a grade is assigned at the end of the course that reflects the student's overall performance.
Medical Microbiology
The program in medical microbiology is designed to familiarize medical students with the fundamentals of etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and prevention of infectious disease. Initially there is a brief introduction to microbiology as a basic science through discussions concerned with microbial physiology and genetics and basic principles of immunology. As the course proceeds, host-parasite interrelationships for specific groups of disease-producing agents are discussed. Immunologic disorders, as well as the application of immunological principles to diagnoses of diseases, are stressed. Throughout the course, concepts and basic information on medical microbiology are accompanied by clinical correlates. Instruction includes lectures, laboratory exercises, and case- or clinical scenario-based small-group discussion facilitated by the faculty. Other resources include intranet Web-based cases, images and self-assessment.Medical Pharmacology
The course in medical pharmacology is designed to offer students a sound background in pharmacology as a basic biomedical science; students thereby have the opportunity to prepare for the further study of therapeutics and clinical pharmacology. After a thorough introduction to the general principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, the pharmacological and toxicological properties of the major classes of drugs are discussed. Emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanisms of drug-induced modifications of physiological functions in man. Lectures are supplemented with clinical correlations on the rational use of drugs in the management of disease.Pathology
This course offers the pathological basis for the practice of medicine by presenting the etiology, pathogenesis and pathophysiology of general disease processes and of specific diseases of organ systems, as well as the clinical results of disease.The course is taught during two-thirds of the second year. Students may acquire information from several sources, using comprehensive learning objectives from each topic as a guide. Synthesis of this information is facilitated in case-based small-group discussions, guided by faculty and residents. Students employ computer-assisted independent study complemented by assigned textbook readings to prepare for case discussions. Self-study time is incorporated into the course schedule. Additional components of the course include lectures, demonstrations of recent autopsy and surgical specimens, study of glass slides, and attendance at autopsies.
USMLE Step 1
UT Southwestern medical students are counseled to take the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 in June following the second year. Students must take the examination prior to beginning the fourth year. Students must obtain a passing score on the USMLE Step 1 to progress through the fourth year.