2-year and 3-year Pre-clerkship Options

Only at Stanford, the Discovery Curriculum enables students to complete their MD Program at a more individualized pace, introducing a greater diversity of learning pathways available to students. Depending on their unique goals and pursuits at Stanford, students can complete the pre-clerkship curriculum at full pace in two years or at a slower pace in three years. During the first year, all students will complete the same courses at the same pace. In the autumn quarter of the second year, students can complete the remainder of their pre-clerkship curriculum at full pace or apply for the option of splitting the course workload over two years. Students who are approved for the three-year option will have substantially more open time to pursue independent research, a dual degree, or other longitudinal scholarship and leadership activities. The course requirements, learning objectives, and assessments will be the same for two-year and three-year pre-clerkship students. The three-year option is selective with an application process; we expect the majority of students initially to opt for the traditional two-year pre-clerkship option. The three-year pre-clerkship option will be available as of August 2018.

• 2-year and 3-year pre-clerkship options that enable students to complete their MD Program at a more individualized pace
• More opportunities for longitudinal scholarship and pursuing dual degrees
• Improvements to pedagogy and student assessment in courses
• New courses that provide a more robust medical education and training
• Redesigned courses as part of continuous quality improvement efforts
• Continuation of many strong components of the former curriculum
• Maintaining our excellence in clinical training 

The Discovery Curriculum introduces new courses and restructured courses. The new courses provide students with earlier clinical experience, a robust education in pharmacology, repeated exposure to core concepts, and deeper exploration of advanced topics. As part of continuous quality improvement, some existing courses have been restructured or redesigned according to feedback from faculty and students. All course changes impact only the pre-clerkship curriculum, with the exception of the Reflections, Research, and Advances in Patient Care course (RRAP), which is taken during the clerkship years. The total class hours in the Discovery Curriculum are approximately the same as in the former curriculum. The matriculating class of 2017-18 will be the first cohort to experience all of the course changes.

• New Courses:                                                            
• •Cells, Signaling, and Regenerative Medicine  
• •Pharmacological Treatment of Disease (PTD) series
•           Introduction to Pharmacological Treatment of Disease
•           Pharmacological Treatment of Disease A
•           Pharmacological Treatment of Disease B
• •Pathophysiology
• Advanced Clinical Problem-Solving
• Restructured Courses:                                                            
• Anatomy
• Histology
• Clinical Embryology
• •Science of Medicine 
• •Practice of Medicine (POM)  
• •Reflections, Research, & Advances in Patient Care (RRAP)
  
• Course Highlights
• The Pharmacological Treatment of Disease (PTD) series provides students with a robust education in pharmacology through these courses: Introduction to Pharmacological Treatment of Disease (embedded in the cardiology and pulmonary modules at the beginning of the spring quarter, year 1), Pharmacological Treatment of Disease A, and Pharmacological Treatment of Disease B.
• Pathophysiology and Clinical Problem-Solving are capstone courses at the end of the pre-clerkship curriculum. These courses provide a deeper exploration of advanced topics and repeated exposure to important concepts and to multi-systemic diseases.
• Clinical Embryology and Cells and Signaling in Regenerative Medicine are smaller courses that emerged from efforts to restructure the former Developmental Biology course, improve pedagogy, and showcase ground-breaking work in regenerative medicine.
• Science of Medicine, formerly Human Health and Diseases (HHD), has been restructured to primarily focus on physiology, pathology, and pathophysiology to improve pedagogy and increase modularity in the pre-clerkship curriculum. Science of Medicine will be taught via an organ systems model, and alignment between topics taught in Science of Medicine and Practicum of Medicine (POM) will be maintained. The key change to students’ experience is that two organ systems will be taught concurrently in Science of Medicine, rather than sequentially one organ system at a time. The sequencing and pairing of organ systems are optimized for learning.
• The sequencing and paring of organ systems have been optimized in Practice of Medicine (POM) to create connections to clinical medicine as students are learning physiology and pathology of organ system. 
• Reflections, Research, & Advances in Patient Care (RRAP) are one-day intersessions during the clinical years. The curriculum focuses on reflective practice, translational medicine, advances in biomedical research, and near peer mentoring. The frequency of RRAP will be increased to as often as every 4 weeks to allow enhanced emphasis on advanced basic science topics that are more applicable after some clinical experience.

Preserving Components of the Former Curriculum

The Discovery Curriculum preserves many strong components of the former curriculum, including prior courses that were deemed highly successful, the Scholarly Concentration program, and the Educators for C.A.R.E. longitudinal clinical skills mentorship program. Students will continue to have the option to choose when they take the USMLE Step 1 exam (either immediately following the completion of the pre-clerkship curriculum or later in the first clinical year). There are no changes to the clerkship curriculum, with the exception of modifications to the Reflections, Research, and Advances in Patient Care (RRAP) course. 

The Discovery Curriculum provides excellent clinical training through the following courses and programs. Stanford students are trained to provide compassionate patient-centered care, using best practices in the biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and social-behavioral sciences.

• Practice of Medicine
• In the first two years of medical school, the Practice of Medicine (POM) course series provides broad clinical science education with early exposure to patient care and the practice of medicine. POM employs a variety of instructional methods, including clinical problem-based cases and standardized patients, to equip students with the critical thinking and communication skills essential to providing compassionate, expert care. Please visit our required pre-clerkship curriculum page to learn more about the POM series.
• Educators-4-CARE
• The Educators-4-CARE (E4C) program enhances the development of students as skilled and compassionate physicians by providing a formal curriculum that cultivates compassion, advocacy, responsibility, and empathy. Each incoming medical student is matched with an E4C faculty who serves as a clinical teacher and mentor for the entirety of their time at the School of Medicine. Please visit the E4C website to learn more.
• Early Clinical Engagement
• Early Clinical Engagement (ECE) is an innovative course for first year medical students to participate in clinical experiences that inform their vision as future physicians. Course goals include integration into the clinical setting with preceptors, development of concrete skills, and introduction to different career paths. ECE includes three components: (1) clinical experiences, (2) interactive large group seminars, and (3) small group sessions for reflection of clinical sessions.
• Flexible Clinical Training
• After pre-clerkship, students continue their clinical training and career exploration through clerkships. The structure of clinical training is flexible, allowing considerable customization of the order in which core clerkships are completed and offering a wide variety of selective/elective clerkships. Students receive outstanding patient care training offered at Stanford hospital and affiliated sites. Please visit our required clerkship curriculum page to learn about clerkships.
• Stanford Healthcare Innovations and Experiential Learning Directive
• The Stanford Healthcare Innovations and Experiential Learning Directive (SHIELD) program offers innovative elective courses and creates opportunities for longitudinal and cumulative clinical experiences. Students enrolled in a SHIELD course engage in patient-facing activities at their assigned clinical sites for one half day per week and ideally remain in the program for the entirety of medical school. Please visit the SHIELD website to learn more.
• Cardinal Free Clinics
• Stanford's Cardinal Free Clinics provide opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience and early patient exposure. Through volunteering for the Arbor Free Clinic and the Pacific Free Clinic, students learn basic clinical skills and how to work closely with diverse and underserved patient populations. Please visit the Cardinal Free Clinics website to learn more.