Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (Chicago Medical School)

FIRST YEAR COURSES : * Biochemistry : The fundamental chemical properties and biological reactions of important compounds in the normally functioning human organism are studied. Emphasis is placed on the regulation and integration of metabolic processes. The course makes use of both lectures and conferences. A unique aspect of the course is a selfteaching program that covers certain facts and concepts basic to biochemistry; this is an individual self-learning, self-evaluation program. * Clinical Anatomy : Both gross anatomy and developmental anatomy are studied in this course. Laboratory time is devoted exclusively to the regional dissection of a human cadaver. Supplementary offerings within the course include films, prosected cadavers, and bone sets for individual study. * Embryology : The course presents the normal and abnormal development of the human embryo and fetus. The course includes descriptive presentations of developing structures. Conceptual and mechanistic consideration of developmental processes drawn from non-human embryological events are also discussed (2 units). * Epidemiology : This course acquaints the student with the basic concepts of biostatistics and introductory Epidemiology. Elements of research design are stressed so that the student is able to critically evaluate research literature. Practice in simple statistical skills and analysis is included. * Genetics : The course is designed to provide first-year medical students with an understanding of basic genetic principles which are requisite to the practice of modern medicine. Topics discussed include chromosomal abnormalities, pedigree construction, Mendelian inheritance patterns and risk assessment, the role of linkage and restriction fragment length polymorphisms in diagnosis, indications for genetic counseling, and prenatal diagnosis and genetic aspects of cancer. * Histology : The principal educational goal of this course is to convey the relationship between organ structure and organ function, through the detailed study of light microscopic preparations and electron micrographs of cells, tissues, and organs. * Introduction to Clinical Medicine : The first-year Introduction to Clinical Medicine Course provides clinical training in history taking, the physical examination, patient examination and physical diagnosis. The initial lectures and laboratory sessions concentrate on history taking skills and the approach to the patient. The lectures on history taking are held late in term two. The physical examination portion of the course, beginning in term three, is didactic and based primarily on audiovisual and live demonstrations. During this time, there is elaboration of the historytaking skills and introduction of the physical examination. These didactic sessions are complemented by workshops in which smaller groups of students are guided by personalized instruction as they develop the skills of history taking and physical examination that they practice on each other. The course provides the students with his or her first clinical learning experiences. The students also practice the examination techniques on patient educators during workshops that are conducted during course hours and in the evening. * Medical Ethics : The course introduces the student to the basics of ethical issues in the practice of medicine, as well as to recognize the controversial nature of issues such as patient's rights. Elements of research into the foundations on which positions are taken on medical issues are stressed. Logical approaches for such positions are developed. Inquiry into the historical basis of ethical problems, appreciation for alternative positions on ethical issues and identifying the ethical issues concomitant with the new developments in the practice of medicine are emphasized. * Molecular and Cell biology : In this course, the molecular and cellular processes common to all eukaryotic cells are studied and, where appropriate, comparisons to prokaryotic cells are made. The molecular and cellular processes of specific cell types and tissue types are also considered, and related to their morphological appearance. Dr. Walters and faculty from the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Cell Biology & Anatomy. * Neuroscience : An interdisciplinary introduction to the structure and function of the nervous system team-taught by all faculty members in the Department of Neuroscience. This course provides a broad overview of modern neuroscience, emphasizing: 1) cellular and molecular neuroscience, including transmitter neurochemistry, neural plasticity, and the biology of neural stem cells; 2) systems neuroscience, focusing on sensory, motor, limbic and higher cognitive systems; 3) neuroanatomy taught in small group sessions utilizing human cadaver brains and interactive computer-based learning; and 4) clinical neuroscience, including correlations on multiple sclerosis, headache and pain disorders, peripheral neuropathy, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, stroke, brainstem lesions, seizure disorders, sleep disorders, loss of consciousness, and Alzheimer's disease. * Physiology and Biophysics : The course offers the basic principles of organ system physiology. Through lectures, demonstrations, conferences, and laboratory work, students receive a quantitative and integrated concept of subcellular, cellular and organ system function. SECOND YEAR COURSES : * Microbiology and Immunology : Focusing on the fundamental molecular biology, genetics, metabolism, immunology and morphology of microorganisms, these courses are also designed to provide practical experience in laboratory diagnosis in microbiology and parasitology. The first quarter is directed toward principles and concepts of microbiology and immunology; the second and third quarters, to infectious disease processes and laboratory diagnostic procedure. * Clinical Neuroscience : This multidisciplinary course focuses on brain structure and function and their clinical manifestations. Faculty includes members of the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry. Term I covers brain organization strategies for the diagnosis of central nervous system disease. These strategies include the mental status and cognitive assessment examinations, psychological testing, and routine (e.g., blood count) and specialized (e.g., lumbar puncture, magnetic resonance imaging) laboratory testing, normal and abnormal personality. Term II covers disorders of the central nervous system, encompassing psychopathology. For these disorders, prevalence, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and prevention are covered. * Preventive Medicine : Four-hour lecture and home study course. It contains a module in epidemiology, plus introductory lectures and assignments in the fields of occupational medicine and of environmental medicine. Further, there are lectures and assignments on a sampling of diseases which are common, which constitute public health problems and which are amenable to varying degrees to screening, early diagnosis and subsequent intervention. * Pathology : The biologic bases and mechanisms of disease, including inflammation and repair, and cell injury by infectious, immunologic, vascular, genetic, physical, chemical, and neoplastic mechanisms, followed by a beginning survey of disease with emphasis on clinical pathologic correlations. * Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology : The subject matter is covered in lectures, conferences and tutorials. The mechanism of actions of drugs at molecular, cellular and biochemical levels, and factors affecting drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, are discussed. Pharmacogenetics, gene therapy, drug interactions, therapeutic uses, contraindications and side effects, and the toxicology of selected compounds are also presented. THIRD YEAR COURSES : * Family Medicine : Students learn about and experience family practice in its unique combination of inpatient and outpatient settings; service to all age groups and both genders; attention to both organic and functional aspects of illness; and the interactions among lifestyle, life stresses and disease. * Internal Medicine : The Junior Medicine Clerkship is conducted at one of CMS's nine affiliated hospitals. An eight week rotation is offered at John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County, Christ Hospital, Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital, Illinois Masonic Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center, North Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Norwalk Hospital and Lutheran General Hospital. There are designated full-time faculty clerkship supervisors and full-time teaching faculty at each institution. The objective of the clerkship is to present the student with a basic core of information in internal medicine and the relationship to relevant basic sciences and medical disciplines. The student is provided with practical experience at the bedside, formal work and teaching rounds. Techniques of clinical diagnosis and management, including diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures, are demonstrated and, in appropriate instances, performed by the clinical clerks with faculty guidance. Subspecialty rounds, clinical conferences, clinical-pathological conferences and medical grand rounds complement the clerkship experience. Case seminar series, including the principle areas of internal medicine, provide a core curriculum supplemented by specified assignments, reference to current medical literature and supplementary sources of written and audiovisual instruction. * Obstetrics / Gynecology : This six-week required clerkship at John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County, Mount Sinai Hospital and Lutheran General Hospital provides the student with experience in all aspects of obstetrics and gynecology. This includes general obstetrics and gynecology and the subspecialties of endocrinology, oncology and perinatology. * Surgery Clerkship : The Surgical Clerkship Program is an eight-week rotation in one of five affiliated hospitals: Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center, Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Christ Hospital, John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County, Lutheran General Hospital, and Swedish Covenant Hospital, under the supervision of Internal Coordinators who are faculty members. Six weeks are assigned to general surgery, and two weeks of one of the following electives: anesthesiology, emergency room, metabolic care, orthopedic surgery, trauma, urology and vascular surgery. As an integral part of the surgical team, the clerks gain clinical experience by participating in clinics, rounds, operative procedures, and on-call duties. They attend the following regularly scheduled surgical conferences: radiology, pathology, tumor, morbidity and mortality, grand rounds, surgical GI conference, vascular, journal club, critical care, surgical indications, basic science, cardiothoracic, orthopedic, surgical nutrition and trauma. * Pediatrics : This clerkship emphasizes close faculty supervision by full-time CMS faculty as well as full-time attending staff physicians from the clerkship site hospital. This includes personal attention to the performance of physicals and elicitation of histories, patient write-ups, chart notes and invasive and noninvasive technical procedures. Students are assigned to a service at one of the hospitals and serve as full-functioning members of the healthcare team that is composed of junior and senior residents and attending staff physicians. The clerkship is currently conducted at Christ Hospital, Cook County Children's Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center, Lutheran General Hospital and St. Anthony Hospital. Students rotate through ambulatory and ward pediatric medicine, neonatology and the emergency room. Didactic teaching is presented in the form of lectures, seminars, individual presentations, ward rounds and student bedside rounds. * Psychiatry : This is an intensive, full-time experience in the medical specialty of psychiatry. Under faculty supervision, clerks perform the duties of house staff. Clerks participate in interviews and history taking, charting, triage and referral decisions, treatment and care of psychiatric inpatients and significant experience in consultation/ liaison psychiatry and outpatient psychiatry. The classroom work consists of seminars on psychiatric emergencies, psychotherapy, behavior modification, liaison/consultation psychiatry, pediatric psychiatry, forensic and ethical psychiatry. * Emergency Medicine : This is a required four-week rotation during the third year. The student learns the principles of prioritization of potentially life- or limb-threatening conditions and how to approach the acutely ill or injured patient with a focused history and physical exam. Procedures taught in the second year in �Introduction to Clinical Skills� are performed in the Emergency Department setting with attention to universal precautions and personal safety. A series of lecture/discussion group sessions are conducted by the faculty from Emergency Medicine addressing the major presenting complaints. The student is assigned to either John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County or Mount Sinai Hospital for the clinical portion. Lectures are attended by the entire group at Mount Sinai. * Neurology : This three-week required clerkship prepares students to recognize and begin the management of patients with neurologic conditions, to demonstrate the ability to perform a complete and reliable neurologic history and examination, and to continue their progress toward achieving the School�s educational competencies. The student is provided with practical experience at the bedside, clinics, and teaching rounds, as well as varied learning environments including online quizzes, essay assignments, and simulated patient experiences. On the last day of the clerkship, the students perform a lumbar puncture on mannequin simulators. FOURTH YEAR COURSES : * Medicine Sub Internship : The student Subinternship in Internal Medicine provides an opportunity to serve as an active member of a resident-intern-student team intimately involved in the acute care of patients on the medical service. The clinical experience exposes the student to a wide variety of medical problems for which the clerk is responsible for diagnosis and treatment under the direct supervision of the medical resident and attending physician. The full teaching program includes daily attending rounds, daily subspecialty conferences and weekly medical grand rounds. The clerkship is intended to permit the student to serve as an �acting intern� as a means of improving his or her understanding of the pathophysiology of disease, clinical skills for historical, physical and laboratory examinations, and knowledge and judgment in clinical medicine. * Clinical Neurology : Clinical neurology is a fourth-year course in which the medical student expands upon earlier training in the required clerkship in the diagnosis and management of patients with neurologic disease. The student presents to the preceptoring neurologist those patients �worked up� in both an inpatient and outpatient setting. In addition, the student sees selected consultations that are presented to the preceptoring neurologist for discussion. Opportunities are afforded the student to participate in various neurologic diagnostic studies, including electroencephalography, electromyography, nerve conduction, and evoked response neurophysiology. The importance of these diagnostic studies in the neurologic diagnosis is emphasized. Highland Park/Edgewater Hospitals

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School name: Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (Chicago Medical School)
Address: 3333 Green Bay Road
Zip & city: IL 60064 North Chicago
Phone: 847-578-3000
Web: http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/cms

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