OM 1026: Transition to Clinical Medicine

This course is a foundational introduction to mechanisms of disease (and some therapy)  and will serve as a means to migrate from acquisition of basic scientific knowledge to utilization of such knowledge in understanding disease processes. During this course there will be a transition towards clinical thinking while integrating the scientific foundation that explains the clinical manifestations of the disorders covered.  The course consists variably of lectures, student designated (and scheduled) self-study (DSA), clinical contextual integrations and case-based interactive learning sessions (CIS). Broad topic areas to be emphasized include cellular damage, inflammation, healing and tissue repair, immunopathology, pathophysiology of hemodynamic and hemostatic disorders, genetic diseases, mechanisms of neoplasia, medical microbiology and its application in infectious disease, environmental and nutritional disorders, an overview of diseases of infancy and childhood and introductory pharmacology of antimicrobials. Throughout the course, the language of medicine is emphasized in conjunction with etiologic mechanisms, clinical features, differential diagnoses, and morphology. In addition, important aspects of clinical laboratory involvement and data utilization in the diagnosis of disease are discussed as appropriate.  It is expected that students in this course will function as mature adult learners and will seek all the knowledge necessary from any and all sources available.