Curriculum Components

Fundamentals of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) – Year 1 & First Half of Year 2

During Fundamentals of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) component, students learn about normal function, disease and therapeutics using an integrated systems-based approach. Teaching methods include lectures, laboratory sessions, small group teaching, assignments and independent studying. Alongside learning about the basic science relevant to understanding health and disease, students participate in the Longitudinal Family Medicine Experience (LFME) which allows for early clinical exposure in a family medicine setting.

Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) – Second Half of Year 2

The Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) component helps students transition from principally class-based learning to active and self-directed learning in the clinical setting. Teaching methods include clinical apprentice sessions and clinical tutorials, lectures, small group teaching, assignments and independent studying. Students consolidate history-taking and physical examination skills, develop clinical reasoning skills, and formulate approaches to common clinical presentations. Clinical disciplines highlighted in TCP include Internal Medicine, Neurology, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Anesthesia, Radiology and Ophthalmology. In addition to enhancing their clinical knowledge and skills, students complete the Community Health Alliance Program (CHAP), which allows for students to benefit from service learning and have a short Transition to Clerkship course to prepare them for participation in patient care in clerkship.  

Clerkship – Year 3 & Year 4

Clerkship component courses are aligned with the primary goal of the MD CM Program: to graduate physicians who have attained the requisite knowledge as defined by the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) Clinical Presentations and possess the core and fundamental clinical attributes and skills needed to serve society in the practice of the medical profession. During clerkship, students are actively engaged in the care of patients as part of healthcare teams, with appropriate supervision. All students complete required clinical clerkship courses in Internal Medicine, Surgery, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Geriatric Medicine and Emergency Medicine. Students also have clerkship courses in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Putting It All Together: Basic Science, Medicine and Society, and Transition to Residency. Students have ample time for clinical and/or research electives in order to further their own learning goals and career interests.

A group of 15 students will have the opportunity to complete their Year 3 clerkship at the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) in Gatineau, Quebec. Interested students will have the opportunity to sign-up to visit the CISSSO in the Fall of Year 2 of the program.

Physicianship

A physician fulfills two roles in service to the patient: that of a professional and that of a healer. These two roles, which are served simultaneously, are referred to as Physicianship. The Physicianship component offers courses throughout the MDCM Program: Clinical Method 1 (Year 1); Clinical Method 2, Mindful Medical Practice, and Medical Ethics and Health Law (Year 2); and Formation of the Professional & Healer (Year 3). The longitudinal Physician Apprenticeship curriculum runs throughout the four-year MDCM Program. Students are assigned in groups of 5 or 6 to a Physician Apprenticeship group, led by an Osler Fellow who functions as a mentor and teacher during the MDCM Program.

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