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MD Program

• Description
• Program Goals
• Educational Objectives
• Admission Requirements
• USMLE Requirements
• Clinical Practice Examination
• Program and Graduation requirements
• Tuition and Fees
• Curriculum
• First Academic Period
• Second Academic Period
• Third Academic Period
• Fourth Academic Period
• Fourth Year
• Fifth Year

Description

The Medical Education Program at Ponce School of Medicine is a 4-year program with emphasis in primary care, and a duration of 152 weeks. It grants a doctor of medicine degree (M.D.).  The Program consists of two years of pre-clinical (basic science) courses in the core disciplines of Gross Anatomy, Histology and Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Microbiology/Immunology.  It also includes Human Genetics and Neuroscience. 

The pre-clinical years provide integration of clinical content and early clinical experiences through Pathophysiology, Introduction to Clinical Medicine, Behavioral Sciences and Basic Psychiatry.  Longitudinal programs in preventive and community medicine, problem-based learning and medical ethics are integrated in the educational program of the first two years.

The third year provides the core clinical clerkships, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Surgery.  The fourth year complements these core clinical experiences with Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, Surgical Subspecialties and Primary Care Selectives.  Five months of elective rotations provide additional clinical experiences in several subspecialty fields.

A five year program is offered in which the first two years are extended to three.

Program Goals

1. To prepare qualified bilingual students (English-Spanish) to become knowledgeable in the biopsychosocial issues affecting the health of individuals and their communities and capable of applying this knowledge to health promotion, disease prevention, research, diagnosis and treatment.
2. To provide a broad based, primary care oriented educational program while teaching specialized disciplines to prepare the student for all career options.
3. To foster students’ commitment to ethical, intellectual and social values.
4. To develop and foster students’ participation in biomedical, behavioral and health services research.
5. To prepare students to be responsive to emerging systems of health care delivery and new health paradigms.
6. To facilitate the delivery of high quality health care services to our local community while fostering the appropriate environment for clinical education, research, and faculty practice and development.
7. To utilize the latest technological advances to provide continuing education to health professionals in our community and to encourage the pursuit of lifelong learning.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of the educational program at the Ponce School of Medicine, the medical student should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills and attitudes to the satisfaction of the faculty:

Knowledge

1. Knowledge of the normal structure and function of the body and of each of its major organ systems, as well as of the molecular, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms that are important in maintaining the body's homeostasis.
2. Knowledge of the important non-biological determinants of health and of the economic, psychological, social, and cultural factors that contribute to health maintenance and the development and continuation of illness or disease.
3. Knowledge of the genetic, developmental, metabolic, toxic, microbiologic, autoimmune, neoplastic, degenerative, and traumatic causes of disease states and their pathogenesis.
4. Knowledge of the principles of pharmacology, the mechanisms by which therapeutic agents work and the tenets of therapeutic decision making.
5. Knowledge of the epidemiology of common disease states within a defined population and of the appropriate measures for their prevention.
6. Knowledge of the theories and principles that govern ethical decision making, and of the major ethical dilemmas in medicine, particularly those that arise at the beginning and end of life and from the rapid expansion of the understanding of genetics.
7. Knowledge of various approaches to the organization, financing, and management of health care delivery systems.
8. Knowledge of the information resources and tools available to support life-long learning.

Skills

1. Clinical Skills
   
   1. Ability to obtain and interpret an accurate medical history that covers all essential aspects of the history, including issues related to age, gender, and socio-economic status.
   2. Ability to perform and interpret both a complete and a problem-focused physical examination, including a mental status.
   3. Ability to interpret the results of commonly used diagnostic studies.
   4. Ability to solve clinical problems using deductive and inductive reasoning in the context of culture, social status and the health beliefs and needs of the patient.
   5. Ability to perform routine technical procedures, including but not limited to venipuncture, inserting an intravenous catheter, arterial puncture, inserting a nasogastric tube, inserting a foley catheter, and suturing lacerations.
      
2. Therapeutic Skills
   
   1. Ability to construct appropriate management strategies for patients with common conditions, both acute and chronic, including the management of pain, and those requiring short and long-term rehabilitation.
   2. Ability to select the appropriate medical/surgical therapeutic modalities, including lifestyle modifications.
   3. Ability to recognize patients with immediately life-threatening conditions regardless of etiology, and to institute appropriate initial therapy.
   4. Ability to manage patients with serious conditions in need of critical care.
   5. Ability to identify factors that place individuals at risk for disease or injury, to select appropriate tests for detecting risks and to determine preventive strategies for responding appropriately.
      
3. Communication Skills
   
   1. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with patients, patients' families, colleagues, and others with whom physicians must exchange information in carrying out their responsibilities.
   2. Ability to consult and use other resources within the health care team for the benefit of the patient.
   3. Ability to retrieve biomedical information from electronic databases and other resources, and to manage and utilize this information for solving problems and making clinical decisions.

Attitudes

1. Understanding of, and respect for, the roles of other health care professionals, and of the need to collaborate with others in caring for individual patients and in promoting the health of defined populations.
2. Honesty and integrity in all interactions with patients' families, colleagues, and others with whom physicians must interact in their professional lives.
3. Compassionate treatment of patients, respect and sensitivity for their privacy and dignity.
4. Commitment to advocate at all times the interests of one's patients over one's own interests.
5. An understanding of the ethical principles of the medical profession and the threats posed by the conflicts of interest inherent in various financial and organizational arrangements for the practice of medicine.
6. Capacity to recognize and accept limitations in one's knowledge and clinical skills, and a commitment to continuously improve one's knowledge and abilities.
7. Commitment to provide care to patients who are unable to pay and to advocate for access to health care for members of traditionally under served populations.

USMLE Requirements

USMLE-Step 1

1. All medical students must take and approve the USMLE I examination as a requirement for promotion to the third year (Academic Senate Certification 94-95-5 March 2, 1995).  The examination must be scheduled no later than the first week of July of the corresponding year, allowing at least four weeks for the results.
2. Those students who approve the examination will register for the third year academic program.
3. Transfer students are required to take and approve USMLE I prior to admission to the third year.
4. Those students who fail must take a leave of absence (LOA) of a maximum of 180 days to prepare and re-take the examination.  A passing score is required in order to register in the third year academic program.
5. Students will have a maximum of three opportunities to approve the USMLE I examination.  Students who fail the third time will be considered for dismissal from the Medical School Program.

USMLE-Step 2

1. All medical students must take and approve the USMLE II examination as a requirement for graduation (Academic Senate Certification 97-98-1 March 16, 1998).  The first examination must be scheduled no later than the end of the second clinical rotation of the fourth academic year.  The last opportunity to take and approve the USMLE II examination to complete the requirement with the student’s graduating class will be the first week of April of the corresponding graduation year.
2. Those students who have not completed this graduation requirement with their corresponding graduation class, must take a Leave of Absence (LOA) according to student’s academic program and within the established time frame for the medical education program.

Clinical Practice Examination

1. All medical students are required to take and pass a Clinical Practice Examination (CPX) to be given at the end of their Third Academic Year.
2. Written feedback concerning individual performance will be provided to each student.
3. Students not meeting the acceptable level of performance, will receive guided learning to overcome areas of low performance during one or more of the fourth year required clinical rotations.  A modified version of the exam will be given after completion of the guided learning experience.
4. Satisfactory completion of this additional guided learning fulfills the requirement to pass this examination.

Program and Graduation Requirements

1. Satisfactory completion of all course work and examinations as required by the faculty
2. Taking and approving the USMLE Step I examination as a requirement for promotion to the third year (Academic Senate Certification 94-95-5 March 2, 1995)
3. Taking and approving the USMLE Step II examination as a requirement for graduation (Academic Senate Certification 97-98-1 March 16, 1998)
4. Taking and passing a Clinical Practice Examination (CPx) to be given at the end of their Third Academic Year as a requirement for graduation.

Curriculum

Required Courses

• Gross Anatomy, Imaging and Embryology  
• Cell Biology and Histology   
• Neuroscience   
• Biochemistry  
• Microbiology and Immunology  
• Behavioral Science  
• Physiology  
• Problem Based Learning    
• Medical Ethics  
• Human Genetics
• Community Medicine

Required Courses

• Pathophysiology  
• Pathology  
• Pharmacology   
• Basic Psychiatry    
• Introduction to Clinical Medicine I and II    
  (includes Physical Diagnosis)  
• Infectious Diseases  
• Family and Community Medicine (includes  Biostatistics/Epidemiology) 
• Medical Ethics  Skill Development (4 weeks)

Third Academic Period: Begins July; Duration, 44 weeks

Required Courses

Weeks

Required Clerkships

Fourth Academic Period: Begins July; Duration, 44 weeks

Required Clerkships*

Electives**

Unscheduled time

**All off-campus electives must have the approval of the corresponding Department Chairperson and the Clinical Coordination Office.  A maximum of five off-campus electives are allowed

Required Clerkships

*All required rotations have to be taken in Ponce School of Medicine clinical sites or affiliated institutions.  Two required clerkships must be taken per semester.

**All off-campus electives must have the approval of the corresponding Department Chairperson involved and the Clinical Coordination Office. A maximum of five out off-campus electives are allowed.



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