Marshall University (Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine)

Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine is a state-supported, community-based medical school established in 1977. Our faculty and administration are committed to providing high quality Medical Education and Residency Training emphasizing primary care at a relatively modest cost and with a great deal of self-reliance and community support. We specialize in rural health issues as expressed in special efforts to recruit students from rural West Virginia and place graduates in clinical practice in rural areas. Clinical and basic research is focused also on health issues related to rural populations.

The Biomedical Sciences Center of Excellence in Research and Graduate Education and Forensic Science Programs offer students nationally competitive and regionally relevant graduate education.

Consistency in mission and innovation in execution characterize the medical school’s history. Its small size and community integrated structure have helped make the school uncommonly responsive to the region’s educational and health-care needs. Marshall quickly began building a reputation for effective, strikingly innovative programs geared toward the challenges of rural primary care. Through the school’s network of rural clinical sites, students gained first-hand knowledge of rural health issues.

Over the years, Marshall has carefully but steadily implemented curricular changes designed to produce more and better qualified physicians entering the primary care specialties. Marshall has always ranked high in the percentage of graduates entering primary care. Not surprisingly, Marshall consistently has been honored through the Family Practice Percentage Awards program of the American Academy of Family Physicians: the school has one bronze and three silver awards.

Significant improvements have been made in the research sector. Through strong interdisciplinary effort in the basic sciences, the medical school in 1990 received a National Science Foundation EPSCoR grant that has brought approximately $5 million to Marshall. This allowed the school to develop a core molecular biology facility for research. In 1993, the biomedical sciences program was named Marshall University’s second Center of Excellence. In 1996, it was one of the three graduate programs statewide selected as Programs of Excellence.

New facilities, a new research building at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center and the new Medical Center Complex have greatly increased Marshall’s efficiency and optimized patient care and clinical education.

The new medical center complex positions the School of Medicine well for the next century, according to Dean Charles H. McKown, Jr., M.D., "This center will allow us to provide better and expanded services to the people of our region, and to improve on our already very good educational and academic programs. It gives us the facilities to improve our outreach programs, particularly those to rural underserved areas. And it guarantees improved health and health care for the citizens of our region for the next century."

As vital as these new facilities are, they pale beside the unseen element of the Marshall advantage: the committed faculty whose members take very seriously the success of each individual student. Nowhere will you find a better faculty to student ratio or more dedicated faculty attention to the academic progress of students.

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Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Medical School Location

Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Courses

YEARS ONE AND TWO

Students integrate basic science information with clinical medicine early in the curriculum. Students have direct patient contact from the beginning, giving them a natural framework to integrate their growing knowledge of the traditional sciences basic to medicine such as:
anatomy, microbiology, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology. Also, they are introduced to fundamental clinical knowledge, skills, attitudes, and clinical medicine concepts such as physical examination skills, communication skills, ethics in medicine, doctor-patient relationships, preventive medicine, and biostatistics & epidemiology. Classroom instruction
often gives way to small student working groups and office-based instruction from physician mentors.

YEAR ONE COURSES :

* Human Biochemistry : Human Biochemistry concentrates on the molecular basis of human life. Building a foundation with the structure and function of proteins, the course covers bioenergetics, metabolic pathways and their control. Storage, replication and expression of genetic information are emphasized. This knowledge, conveyed through lecture, clinical correlation presentations, and problem-based learning in small group case discussions, leads to a fuller grasp of physiological processes. Students become better equipped to understand the molecular basis for maintenance of good health and the prevention and treatment of disease.

* Gross Anatomy : The study of gross anatomy and its cognate disciplines and functional interrelationships serve as a foundation on which an understanding of clinical medicine is built. The course is based upon a logical sequence of laboratory dissection and presents a comprehensive study of the structures of the human body and their development. As elements of the learning by discovery that occurs during dissection, students working in small groups discover the uniqueness of each individual. Although the course is centered in dissection, additional instructional techniques utilized include the examination of non-invasive images (such as x-rays, CT and MRI scans, and arteriograms) and the interpretation of anatomy as visualized by such techniques. Clinical correlates and case studies are used to establish the anatomical basis of the practice of medicine. The course exposes students to the compassionate treatment of others, including patients, and respect for privacy and dignity in death and dying issues.

* Introduction to Patient Care : Introduction to Patient Care lays the foundation for patient care by introducing skills essential to the practice of medicine. Communication skills, physical examination and history taking skills are introduced both in didactic sessions and in small group hands-on experiences. Common disease processes are introduced to promote the concepts of heath promotion and disease prevention. Psychosocial issues in medicine and medical humanities are also introduced in this course. The course includes the mentoring program in which each student works with
a primary care physician in their office. Self -reflection is encouraged through the use of mentor reflections.

* Medical Cell Biology : Cell Biology provides an understanding of cellular machinery to prepare students for related topics taught in subsequent basic science and clinical courses. The course also provides a background for medical practice that will increasingly depend upon manipulations of cellular processes and is correlated with appropriate sections of the Biochemistry Course. This multidisciplinary course is an integration of expertise from four basic science departments.

* Behavioral Medicine : Behavioral Medicine is a basic course in human behavior and development, with the focus on what is relevant to health and health care. Patients have different health problems and needs at different developmental stages, and they have conditions that can only be properly diagnosed or understood when we understand what is developmentally normal. Patients differ in how they respond to illness and the demands of treatment.
Physicians see patients with stress related illnesses, and routinely deal with people facing illness, disability, pain, loss, and death. As part of the preparation for confronting these issues, this course involves exploring the human context of medicine in personality and development, and specific applications of behavioral science to health matters. Human sexuality and the behavioral factors in health and illness are included in this course.

* Microanatomy & Ultrastructure : Histology studies all of the functional and microscopic aspects of cell and tissue types found in different regions of the human body. Presentation of topics correlates with the physiology course, which runs concurrently and
provides an organ systems approach to the material. In the laboratory portion of the course, tissues from medical histology slide sets and electron micorgraphs are studied.

* Introduction to Patient Care II : The second semester continues the mentoring program. Self-reflection and self-awareness, critical components of doctoring, are again encouraged through the use of mentor reflections.

* Medical Ethics I : Medical Ethics I exposes students to the principles and methods of reasoning required to evaluate relevant ethical considerations in a variety of medical contexts. Case studies are presented that focus on the central importance of the physician-patient relationship, with particular emphasis on areas of potential conflict and ambiguity.
Seminars present opportunities to discuss a range of ethical issues, including informed consent, confidentiality, conflicts of interest and compassionate treatment of severely ill and dying patients.

* Neuroscience : Neuroscience pursues the study of the basic neurological principles and many commonly seen disorders by learning the internal and external morphology, blood supply, microanatomy, cellular neuroscience, development and radio-imaging of the brain and spinal cord. The basic organization and pathways of the major CNS systems involved in the control of sensory and motor functions, the maintenance of homeostasis, and in the processing of cognition, emotion and memory will be studied. The above knowledge will be applied to the analysis and diagnosis of common malfunctions of the nervous system.

* Physiology : Physiology presents the study of human function at the molecular, sub cellular and cellular levels and describes how these events determine the activities of tissues, organs and systems. Both process and regulation of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, gastrointestinal and renal systems are emphasized.

YEAR TWO COURSES :

* Biostatistics/Epidemiology : This course is designed to teach students the principles of biostatistics and epidemiology so that they can apply these concepts to understanding disease occurrence, treatment and prevention. Students will also learn to apply these principles in order to solve clinical questions of patient survival. A lecture format will be used in addition to
computer-based learning and problem solving exercises.

* Immunology : The language and basic concepts of immunology are introduced. The emphasis of the first two-thirds of the course is on the normal immune response and is designed to prepare the students for the last one-third of the course that stresses diseases with an immunologic basis.

* Introduction to Clinical Medicine : ICM prepares students for clinical years through the discussion of common medical illnesses, their presentation, natural history, clinical evaluation and treatment. Students are also taught diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic
modalities of common medical illnesses. Classical presentation of common medical illnesses and the prognosis, natural history and pathophysiology are studied.

* Introduction to Patient Care III : The third semester continues the mentoring program as an option for those students who wish to continue the experience Students electing to participate may choose to work with a primary care doctor or a subspecialist. Self-awareness and self-reflection are again encouraged through the use of mentor reflections.

* Medical Ethics II : Medical Ethics II introduces legal and ethical aspects of issues in biomedical research and health care delivery. Case studies focus attention on public policy questions, as well as the physician’s role in insuring that just and fair practices in health care are not compromised. The range of topics includes protocol for human and animal research, rationing, genetic testing and patient advocacy in the context of managed care.

* Medical Microbiology : The course in medical microbiology is designed to acquaint students with all major aspects of the field of microbiology. Classification, cell structure, growth, nutrition, metabolism, genetics, basic aspects of sterilization, disinfection, and chemotherapeutic agents are presented at outset of the course to provide a common set of concepts and definitions. The major etiologic agents of infectious diseases will then be discussed in the following
order: bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Case studies will be used throughout the course as a means of integrating clinical diagnostic skills with basic knowledge of infectious agents. Several cases will be presented as part of small group discussions.

* Pathology : Pathology initiates the study of human disease as a basis for the clinical practice of general medicine and all subspecialties.
It includes lectures, laboratories, case discussions and small group conferences. Structural changes in tissues and organs, which can be observed at both the gross and microscopic levels, are correlated with molecular/biochemical and cellular biologic causes and mechanisms of disease. Understanding of these
fundamental pathologic processes provides an insight into the pathophysiologic functional changes, including
symptoms and signs which mark the natural history of specific diseases. General Pathology is discussed initially.
This section emphasizes fundamental mechanisms of cell, tissue structural/functional changes and major disease processes, which lead to systemic pathophysiologic changes.

* Physical Examination of the Patient : Physical Exam provides students with opportunities to review and practice the components of the physical examination. Students begin to think in terms of differential diagnosis when presented with a chief complaint, to emphasize the importance of signs and symptoms in the formulation of an appropriate differential diagnosis. The course also emphasizes that an appropriately obtained history and physical examination directed toward specific diagnostic possibilities may be key in evaluation of a patient and in determining further diagnostic evaluation. Common symptoms and signs are introduced.

* Psychopathology : Psychopathology introduces students to clinical psychiatry by focusing primarily on the psychiatric syndromes and their treatment. An immediate goal is to prepare students for the clinical experiences of the third year psychiatry clerkship. A more general goal is to add to the student’s ability to appreciate and respond to mental health issues in all of patient care. The course covers the terminology used to describe symptoms and abnormalities, the defining features of psychiatric disorders, current classification, and the major treatment modalities. Time is also devoted to the important social, legal, political, and ethical issues related to abnormal behavior and its treatment.

* Human Genetics : Genetics provides an introduction to the study of heritable diseases in humans, their molecular basis and their detection and treatment. Clinical cases illustrating inherited diseases will be presented in the latter half of the course.

* Introduction to Patient Care IV : The fourth semester continues the mentoring program as an option for those students who choose to continue the experience. Students electing to participate may choose to work with a primary care doctor or a subspecialist.
Self-awareness and self-reflection are again encouraged through the use of mentor reflections.

* Medical Pharmacology : Medical Pharmacology is presented in several major sections including general principles, autonomic, cholinergic and central nervous system pharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology, endocrine pharmacology, cancer and antimicrobial chemotherapy and toxicology. Emphasis is placed on understanding the basic pharmacology of prototypic agents within each drug class.

* Integrative Medicine : This required second year course is designed to increase understanding of the physician’s role as a healer.
Students will become familiar with, as well as critically evaluate, alternative and complementary healing modalities with an emphasis on prevention and wellness. The course will build upon the student’s personal commitment to becoming a healer by stimulating peer discussion of the meaning of healing, wellness, body, mind and spirit.

YEARS THREE AND FOUR

Year three students learn clinical medicine in hospitals and ambulatory care clinics, in rural and urban communities. Self-directed learning continues throughout their clinical training as they are exposed to primary care and other disciplines of medicine. Responding to the dramatic national shift from inpatient to outpatient care, students increasingly complete rotations in ambulatory settings. After completing a one week clinical orientation, students complete six eight-week clerkships in family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery. All medical students at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and the state’s other medical schools are required to complete at least three months of rural experience in an approved rural setting prior to their graduation. During the course of the third year, all students may complete one month of clinical experience at an approved rural site. The remaining two months of rural experience are obtained during the fourth year at approved sites.
After completing a one week Senior Symposium, fourth-year students must successfully complete four weeks of required internal medicine, surgery and emergency medicine, but also have considerable flexibility in designing educational and clinical programs to meet their individual interests and needs.

YEAR THREE CLERKSHIPS :

* Clinical Orientation : Clinical Orientation is a 1 week course offered prior to the beginning of the Clerkship Year. The course provides an overview of the responsibilities and duties of the third year medical student. The course is designed to enhance the student’s knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional behaviors essential to the third year.

* Family & Community Health : The Family Practice Clerkship is an 8-week clinical course that emphasizes continuity of patient care and patientbased student-directed learning in ambulatory preceptorships. The course also focuses on teaching clinical
problem-solving skills as well as understanding preventive, community health, and patient education issues. In addition, students are exposed to the rich variety of clinical experiences that comprise the specialty of Family Practice. Four weeks can be spent at an approved rural rotation.

* Internal Medicine : Students will participate in an educational rotation encompassing a broad exposure to the core aspects of Internal Medicine. Students will participate in a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to inpatient medicine in addition to experience within the ambulatory general medical clinics and subspecialty clinics. Students are expected to acquire knowledge and skills related to major disease entities related to internal medicine patients and apply this
to development of diagnostic and therapeutic plans thereby providing personalized, scientific, evidence-based patient care. Four weeks can be spent at an approved rural rotation.

* Obstetrics/Gynecology : Students will be provided a base of information about human reproduction and the function and dysfunction of the female reproductive system.

* Pediatrics : The Pediatric Clerkship is an eight-week required clinical clerkship designed to involve students in the evaluation, assessment, care and counseling of pediatric patients and their families from infancy to young adulthood.
Students’ experiences will include spending time at Cabell Huntington Hospital on the Pediatric Inpatient Service, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Newborn Nursery. In addition, students will also rotate through the Pediatric Specialty and Ambulatory Clinics. If desired, students’ ambulatory experiences can be spent at an approved rural site.

* Psychiatry : The Psychiatry Clerkship is designed to broaden the student’s knowledge of psychiatry and behavioral problems as they relate to the practice of medicine. Students will learn how to recognize and evaluate psychiatric disorders, and to become familiar with management approaches. Four weeks can be spent at an approved rural rotation.

* Surgery : The purpose of the Surgery Clerkship is to provide a core learning experience for medical students in the discipline of general surgery. Students will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills basic to the practice of general surgery through formal classroom teaching and clinical activities, both in-patient and out-patient. Four weeks can be spent at an approved rural rotation.

YEAR FOUR COURSES :

* Senior Symposium : This required week long seminar provides an orientation to the fourth year and includes review in performing and interpreting EKGs, evaluating x-rays, information on applying to residency positions, the National Residency Matching Program, as well as certification in ACLS.

* Emergency Medicine : Students will be exposed to all aspects of emergency care and a broad range of pathology. Students act as the primary physician for their patients and coordinate all aspects of care. Students will present cases to the faculty and gain valuable insight into patient care and teaching.

* Required Internal Medicine : The fourth-year clerkship provides an opportunity for senior medical students to experience the full breadth of internal medicine in an inpatient setting. Students are afforded the opportunity to directly involve themselves in the care of patients assigned to them, allowing them to follow their patients though out their entire hospital stay.
Supervision and guidance is not only provided by attendings but also by resident physicians at all levels of
training. This exposes the students to a broad range of disease in this last year of their training.

* Required Surgery : This required fourth year rotation is designed to expose students to the various surgical subspecialties by rotating through four, one-week experiences. Students will be expected to gain specific clinical knowledge of each specialty and be able to perform a thorough evaluation of patients in each subspecialty. Each one-week portion will contribute 25% to the final grade. Students will be evaluated subjectively and by using case presentations or written exams to assess clinical knowledge.

* Electives : Students must complete a minimum of twenty-three weeks of elective time; 8 weeks must be served at a rural site. Students are limited to 12 weeks of out-of-state rotations.

Other translation schools in West Virginia

West Virginia University (School of Medicine) FIRST YEAR The first year of medical school was totally redesigned in 1998. Instead of having discipline based courses competing against each other... Address: Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center P.O. Box 9100

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine The four year program at WVSOM emphasizes basic and clinical sciences, training in hospital and primary care clinical settings, and extensive training... Address: 400 North Lee Street, Lewisburg, West Virginia