Pre-Clerkship Curriculum

The pre-clerkship courses are integrated organ-system courses. In the first year, the focus is on learning normal function and foundational sciences in a clinical context. At the same time, students start learning clinical reasoning and clinical skills. In the second year, the focus is on learning pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. Students sharpen and further develop their clinical reasoning, medical problem-solving, evidence-based practice, and diagnostic skills. Curricular components such as anatomy, small-group learning, clinical skills, and community and population health are integrated into the courses. Threads are also threaded through the courses and clerkships in all four years of the curriculum. Course grades are based on multiple assessment components, including weekly quizzes, small group learning assessments, clinical skills assessments, anatomy lab exams, and assignments. In the course syllabus, the makeup of the course grade is clearly stipulated.

Click here to view the M1 and M1 course schedule.

Course 1 (year 1)
Fundamentals (MEDI 5151) 4 weeks, 9 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports a foundation in the molecular, cellular, and physiologic basis of human health and disease.

Course 2 (year 1)
Musculoskeletal (MEDI 5156) 7 weeks, 15 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system in human health and disease in the context of overall patient care.

Course 3 (year 1)
Brain & Behavior (MEDI 5161) 8 weeks, 15 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the structure and function of the nervous and behavioral health systems in human health and disease in the context of overall patient care.

Course 4 (year 1)
Renal/Cardiopulmonary I (MEDI 5168) 9 weeks, 20 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the structure and function of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal systems in human health and disease in the context of overall patient care.

Course 5 (year 1)
GI/Endocrine/Reproductive (MEDI 5179) 9 weeks, 20 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the structure and function of the gastrointestinal, endocrine, and reproductive systems in human health and disease in the context of overall patient care.

Course 6 (year 2)
Hematology/Oncology (MEDI 5212) 5 weeks, 11 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the clinical, pathological, and management aspects of diseases of the blood and lymphoreticular systems in the context of overall patient care.

Course 7 (year 2)
Genitourinary System (MEDI 5226) 7 weeks, 15 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the clinical, pathological, and management aspects of diseases of the genitourinary system in the context of overall patient care.

Course 8 (year 2)
Cardiopulmonary II (MEDI 5232) 7 weeks, 15 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the clinical, pathological, and management aspects of diseases of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems in the context of overall patient care.

Course 9 (year 2)
Digestive & Endocrine Systems (MEDI 5242) 6 weeks, 12 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the clinical, pathological, and management aspects of diseases of the gastrointestinal and endocrine systems in the context of overall patient care.

Course 10 (year 2)
Behavior & Brain (MEDI 5252) 6 weeks, 12 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the clinical, pathological, and management aspects of psychiatric conditions and diseases of the nervous system in the context of overall patient care.

Course 11 (year 2)
Multi-System Disorders (MEDI 5262) 6 weeks, 11 credit hours

This course will provide students with an integrated curriculum that supports an understanding of the clinical, pathological, and management aspects of multi-system disorders and diseases of the skin and musculoskeletal systems in the context of overall patient care.

A typical week in the pre-clerkship has between 20 and 32 hours of scheduled activities, including 14 to 18 hours of required activities. A typical week may include small-group learning, large-group sessions, self-paced activities for independent study, anatomy lab, clinical skills sessions, Community and Population Health clinics, and a weekly assessment.

Click here to view an M1 week sample.

Small group learning (SGL) is the core pedagogy of the pre-clerkship curriculum. Students learn medical science through clinical cases aligned with weekly curricular themes, revealed sequentially throughout the week. This structure helps students identify knowledge gaps, learn new material, apply learning to later case segments, and develop clinical reasoning in teams.

Students work in groups of seven to eight with both basic science and clinical facilitation. In year 1, students generally work through one case per week with prompts that guide students to pursue a broad range of relevant knowledge, from genes to society. In year 2, students typically work through two cases per week, moving at a faster pace and demonstrating increasing independence in clinical reasoning.

In both years, the main emphasis is on connecting knowledge from several scientific disciplines and linking it to the clinical decisions involved in the cases. At a deep level, these cases show students how to use scientific knowledge while thinking and learning like doctors.

• SGL requires attendance and is difficult to make up.
• Students are expected to prepare, attend on time, participate actively, collaborate respectfully, identify learning issues, and contribute to the group’s learning.
• SGL performance is assessed by faculty and contributes to course grades.
• A student guide for small group learning will be provided during orientation and should be used for detailed expectations and assessment criteria.

Large group (LG) sessions use a variety of formats, including lectures, workshops, team-based learning, panel discussions, group-based activities, the flipped classroom, and any combination of teaching modalities. These sessions function as resources that supplement the learning in SGL and other curricular components. Content from these sessions is assessed in weekly assessments and course exams. Students can access the schedule, learning objectives, content outlines, and suggested preparation for sessions in the course outline document in eLC. It is strongly recommended that students review the course outline with relevant session details and complete suggested preparation in advance of LG sessions.

Clinical Skills

Clinical skills is a longitudinal, must-pass curricular component that begins in the first week of medical school and develops the skills needed for patient care, such as communication, history-taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, documentation, and oral presentation. Clinical skills learning occurs through small-group practice, standardized patient (SP) encounters, simulation, clinical learning sessions, and feedback from faculty and trained observers. Clinical skills also include education in procedural skills, where students learn to perform basic clinical procedures under faculty supervision, and in ultrasound, where students learn a basic understanding of ultrasound physics, its use in clinical settings, and its anatomy.

In year 1, students build basic communication and history-taking skills, learn to manage patient emotions, practice motivational interviewing and other communication skills, and learn physical examination aligned with course content and anatomy. Students learn in small groups of four with one preceptor, practicing skills together. This is followed by a low-stakes summative SP encounter to assess progress.

In Year 2, students continue classroom and SP-based practice while adding hospital encounters with real patients. In year 2, students learn advanced examination and communication skills, as well as sensitive examinations. Students complete history and physical examination documentation (H&P write-ups) based on hospital visits, and complete SP encounters to assess progress.

Clinical skills is assessed within courses and longitudinally. Course-level assessment includes exam questions on weekly quizzes and course exams, standardized patient encounters, and H&P write-ups. Longitudinal assessment includes end-of-semester student evaluation rubrics and OSCE performance. Students must meet Clinical Skills proficiency requirements for promotion.

OSCE

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are structured clinical examinations used to assess performance in clinical skills such as communication, history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, documentation, and professionalism. OSCEs may use standardized patients, task trainers, simulations, written components, or other structured stations and activities.

There are OSCEs that assess student proficiency in clinical skills at the end of year 1 and year 2. Students must pass the OSCE to progress to the next academic year.

Community and Population Health (CPH) is a longitudinal, must-pass curricular component that is focused on service learning, population health, and the health needs of Georgia communities. The CPH curriculum provides early exposure to clinical care through a service-learning experience, where students begin working at community clinical sites early in the pre-clerkship.

Classroom-Based Learning

In the classroom, an interactive didactic series allows students to integrate core content with their clinical care in the community, with sessions that include listening and communication, social and structural determinants of health, adverse childhood experiences, trauma-informed care, health disparities, the burden of illness, climate and health, health promotion, and community-engaged research and advocacy. A deliberate integration of parallel themes occurs in the clinical skills curriculum, enabling students to learn essential knowledge and skills as they prepare to serve in community clinics under faculty physician supervision.

Clinical Service-Learning

Students work in teams led by physician faculty members to serve patients and meet their healthcare needs at one of 12 community-based clinic sites of the Athens Free Clinic. Each student completes 7-8 half-day clinics each year at their assigned longitudinal teaching clinic site. Under supervision, students provide care to community members with complex health needs and barriers to care, and in so doing apply the clinical skills learned elsewhere in the curriculum. Applied patient-centered clinical skills are evaluated formatively and summatively using a competency-based tool.

Core CPH Community-Engaged Research and Advocacy Projects

As M1 and M2 medical student teams get to know their community partner populations, they embark on a community-based research or advocacy project. M1 teams initially create project proposals and submit plans for IRB approval as required. M2 students implement, evaluate, and present these project outcomes in a scholarly poster presentation. This longitudinal work allows students to meet the requirements for medical students to learn research skills while making an impact on their community site. Students may go on to publish or present their community-based projects at state, regional, and national conferences.

CPH Assessment

Students are assessed longitudinally and within courses. Course-level assessment includes questions on weekly quizzes and course exams. Longitudinal CPH assessment is based on the CPH Portfolio, which includes the team research project, written reflections, a burden-of-illness assignment, student evaluation rubrics, clinical experience log, and attendance. Students must pass the CPH Portfolio and proficiency evaluations to progress to the next academic year.

Simulation is a pedagogical approach used throughout the pre-clerkship courses. Simulation provides a structured, low-stakes environment in which students apply foundational science, clinical knowledge, communication skills, and teamwork to patient-care scenarios. Simulation sessions may use manikins, task trainers, simulated clinical rooms, procedural stations, ultrasound, interprofessional activities, and facilitated debriefing.

Simulation activities help students orient to clinical environments, practice patient assessment and initial management, build effective team behaviors, and prepare for care of acutely ill patients.

Anatomy is a curricular component integrated into the organ-system courses in the pre-clerkship. Anatomy acquaints students with the structure of the human body through large-group sessions, self-paced activities, clinical correlation sessions, imaging, models, and dissection of a human body donor. Anatomy emphasizes the relationship between structure and function and supports clinical reasoning, physical examination, procedural learning, radiographic interpretation, and communication with colleagues. Anatomy is assessed in the courses through questions on weekly quizzes and course exams, as well as through dedicated anatomy lab exams that count toward the final course grade.

Anatomy Lab

Central to the study of anatomy is lab experience, where students learn through team-based dissection. Anatomy lab combines group work and independent study. At the beginning of each lab, the faculty provides a short introduction to the day’s dissection. Faculty then circulate through the lab to assist with dissections and learning. Students identify key structures through active engagement with the learning process. The anatomical donor is often one of students’ first teachers in medicine and represents a profound educational gift. In lab, students learn about respect for the human body and affording privacy and confidentiality to their donors and eventual patients.

Grading and Assessment

Courses are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory scale, and there is an internal honors designation for course grades. Course grades are made up of several components, including weekly quizzes, course exams, standardized patient encounters, anatomy lab exams, and assignments. For each course, the grade breakdown is indicated in the course syllabus. In addition, students are longitudinally assessed in Clinical Skills and Community and Population Health, and must pass both components to advance to the next academic year. There is also a must-pass end-of-year OSCE in years 1 and 2. For further details on grading, grade appeals, and assessment, see the relevant policies and schematics.

Remediation and Academic Standing

Remediation is intended to allow a student with performance deficiencies to improve and demonstrate competency in academic understanding and/or professional conduct. Concerns about academic performance or professionalism are evaluated by the Academic and Professionalism Progress Team (APPT), which may offer additional support where needed or refer deficiencies to the Student Progress Committee (SPC). The SPC has the authority to authorize remediation of deficiencies, to place a student on “not in good standing” status, to require repeat of a year, or to dismiss a student from the School of Medicine. For failures in Clinical Skills, a course, or the CPH longitudinal assessment, a student will be reviewed by the SPC, and a remediation plan from the relevant curricular leadership will be considered. For multiple academic deficiencies, the SPC may consider dismissal or repeat of the year. The full Remediation & Consideration of Suspension or Dismissal Policy governs remediation processes and consequences.

Y1 Curriculum Assessment Schematic

Academic and Professionalism Progress Flowchart

Grading Policy 

Grade Appeal Policy 

Remediation and Consideration of Suspension or Dismissal Policy 

Promotion and Graduation Policy 

There are pre-clerkship sessions for which attendance is mandatory, and unexcused absences would be considered a professionalism violation. The Attendance and Excused Absence Policy governs attendance expectations and stipulations for excused absences.

Attendance and Excused Absence Policy 

A passing score on USMLE Step 1 is required to advance to Year 3 of the MD program. At the end of Year 2, there is a dedicated 6-week period during which students study for and take Step 1. Students are required to complete Step 1 before the end of these six weeks and to attend a week of clinical orientation before entering the clerkships.

During the second year, students will take the Comprehensive Basic Science Examination (CBSE) twice. Performance on this examination will give students an idea of where they stand with regard to Step 1 readiness and will provide feedback on areas of strength and areas that need work. The School of Medicine will also provide students with a voucher for a practice examination to take before or during the dedicated period, to gauge Step 1 readiness and identify gaps that need attention. The staff in the Academic Success Program provides students with support and guidance on Step 1 readiness, benchmarks for the CBSE and practice exams, and exam preparation. The School of Medicine also provides students access to Boards and Beyond and First Aid for Step 1, both of which are curricular resources that can also be used for dedicated Step 1 preparation.

Requirements and stipulations regarding Step 1 are described in the Promotion and Graduation Policy and the Remediation and Consideration of Suspension or Dismissal Policy.

Remediation and Consideration of Suspension or Dismissal Policy 

Promotion and Graduation Policy