University of Kentucky (College of Medicine)

Let us introduce you to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, an academic facility dedicated to providing superior instruction and training in order to produce highly qualified and caring physicians to serve the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

One of six colleges comprising the UK Chandler Medical Center (Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health), the College of Medicine is located on the main campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

The UK Chandler Medical Center is committed to the education and training of students in the health professions; the increase of knowledge in the health sciences; and the improvement of the quality and distribution of health care services, especially within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

We take great pride in having nearly 600 full time basic science and clinical faculty members who are very accessible to students for questions and consultations.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine offers a variety of programs to offer you the medical education that most closely fits your interests and goals. Whether it is your mission to become a family practice physician, a healthcare administrator, or a physician scientist, we can help you achieve that goal in a program that is right for you.

The Kentucky Clinic offers a network of outpatient departments and 100 specialty and subspecialty clinics through internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics,
ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, diagnostic radiology, radiation medicine, psychiatry, family practice, rehabilitation medicine, anesthesiology, and pain clinics in both rehabilitation medicine and anesthesiology. These components provide valuable opportunities for patient interaction and clinical medicine. In addition, the College of Medicine has established a strong outreach program offering diagnostic and continuity clinics in many rural communities.

The focal point of the College of Medicine’s teaching facilities is the UK Chandler Medical Center. Modern laboratory and classroom space is the center of activity for medical students. Clinical education is provided on-site at the University of Kentucky Hospital, the UK Children’s Hospital, the Kentucky Clinic, and two divisions of the Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

The Kentucky Medical Curriculum emphasizes early and regular exposure to generalist practice, research opportunities, development of lifelong learning skills, growth as a medical professional through integration of basic and clinical sciences throughout the years
of training. The practice of medicine today and in the future involves much more than direct patient care. The health needs of the nation are constantly changing, and an effective curriculum requires continuous review, evaluation and incremental revision of courses and requirements. Medical students must be prepared to incorporate advanced computer technology and communications, in addition to scientifi c and technical advances in the practice of medicine. Moreover, the physicians of tomorrow must have a deep understanding of human and social values, cultures, and the importance of strong interpersonal skills.

There can be no guarantee that the curriculum, course content, or the system and criteria of student evaluation will be identical each year. In fact, recognizing the need for change and making changes when appropriate are the signs of an outstanding institution and educational program. To meet these needs, the College of Medicine has recently implemented a comprehensive Curricular Quality Assurance Plan whose goal is to provide a mechanism for additive, incremental curricular innovation.

The curriculum of the UK College of Medicine provides students with a solid foundation in basic sciences accompanied by diverse opportunities in primary care, specialty care and research in urban and rural settings. The UK Hospital affords students extensive training in a wide range of experiential areas that include the transplantation programs (bone marrow, kidney, heart, lung, liver, and cornea), the Lucille Parker Markey Cancer Center, the Trauma Center Emergency Service, the Burn Unit, the Gill Heart Institute, Radiation Therapy Services, the MRI and Spectroscopy Program, and Diagnostic Imaging Services.

The required course of study in the College of Medicine provides an excellent foundation in medical science. The goal of undergraduate education in the College of Medicine is to train physicians who are altruistic, knowledgeable, skillful, and dutiful. The Kentucky Medical Curriculum relates those scientific principles and concepts to the prevention of disease and to the delivery of modern, compassionate medical care. Because students with diverse backgrounds and interests embark upon a variety of medical careers, the curriculum provides the basic knowledge and skills essential for further professional development. We prepare our graduates to pursue careers in all areas of medicine, including primary care, academic medicine, biomedical research, and the practice of medicine in specialized fields. The curriculum is designed to be adapted to anticipated changes in medical practice and in the medical needs of our society.

The UK College of Medicine medical education program focuses on core principles and the organization of factual bodies of knowledge rather than on masses of unconnected details. Problem solving rather than
factual recall is stressed. The coursework emphasizes generalism while educating students to pursue careers in any medical or surgical setting. We prepare all students with tools to understand the critical role of research in medicine and provide opportunities to participate in clinical and basic science research. Our program provides grounding in the fundamentals of
research and scholarship to enable students to contribute professionally.
Professionalism is emphasized throughout the curriculum. Student education is enhanced by an environment and facilities conducive to study
and social interaction.

We seek students of good character, personality and values who are motivated to provide human service and who will exemplify the best traditions of the medical profession. Intellectual ability alone is not suffi cient. Students must be responsible persons who will exercise initiative and good judgment. Because the study of medicine prepares students for a learned profession, students themselves should be actively involved in the education process. In concert with our mission, we seek students who are likely to remain in Kentucky to serve the needs of the citizens of this
Commonwealth. Because we want to produce broadly educated physicians who take an interest in the affairs of the community and in cultural activities, we seek students who are responsible citizens, who are personally well adjusted, and who are capable of
helping others in need.

It has long been believed that the best teaching occurs by example. The University seeks faculty members who
have qualities of mind and character that students should emulate. Teachers must be committed to students and to teaching. They must be highly competent, sensitive to the psychology of learning and human behavior, and skilled in the stimulation of creative
thinking. Faculty members of the College of Medicine contribute to the intellectual life of the University
and interact with other organizational components to fulfi ll their educational, research and service commitments to the citizens of Kentucky. In general,
the best teachers have an insatiable curiosity, maintain active programs in research or one of the other forms of scholarship, and engage in service programs. Research and scholarly activity are necessary to maintain the
vitality of the teachers in the College of Medicine.

Research is integral to our institutional mission. It represents the highest form of problem solving through deductive reasoning, an essential component of the practice of medicine. Research experience helps prepare physicians for the lifetime of study that is required if they are to stay abreast of and contribute to the latest medical developments. Physicians must
understand principles of research in order to evaluate future studies that serve as the foundation of evidence-based medical practice.
The excitement of discovery and the desire to learn are
essential for maintaining the knowledge base and skills of the faculty members who educate future physicians.

We believe that effective student education requires
patient interactions on a broad range of diseases and
diverse educational, economic and social backgrounds.
Our educational programs are organized to demonstrate
continuity of care and concern for the patient as a whole and as a person with human dignity. All aspects of the patient must be addressed, and students must recognize that the patient is not just a collection of pathological processes but rather the person that our profession exists to serve. We believe that illness seen over time with patient care delivered in continuity provides the highest quality of educational experiences.

The College of Medicine should act as a resource that contributes to the development of public policy. The College should also be a scientific resource for the community and may join private industry to improve the
economic life of the community.
Care for the poor and participation in community service organizations and cultural life are hallowed traditions of the medical profession. Faculty members and students should engage in activities that will facilitate and model the implementation of this responsibility to society.

The University of Kentucky and affi liated hospitals provide residency training to over 500 physicians and other health professionals each year. In addition to University Hospital, our primary training sites are the
Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Shriners
Hospital for Children, St. Joseph Hospital, Cardinal Hill
Hospital, Eastern State Hospital, the Ridge Behavioral
System, St. Claire Medical Center in Morehead, and the
Appalachian Regional Healthcare facility in Hazard,
Kentucky. Other hospitals in the Lexington area also
serve as training sites. Through the Area Health Education Center program, many departments offer residency training experiences in hospitals and practices that serve rural and other underserved populations.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has set forth a high standard for incorporating computer technology that supports the medical curriculum, facilitates student learning and increases faculty effectiveness.
Faculty and staff have made signifi cant strides in using the World Wide Web to deliver course information and learning resources. These efforts have enabled faculty members and students to readily access current resource materials designed to prepare medical students to become well-informed physicians. Additionally, these efforts provide those physicians graduating from the University of Kentucky with the knowledge, skills, and experience to use technology to access, analyze, and present relevant information in
their specialized fi eld of study.

Students’ computing needs are met through access to state-ofthe- art student computer facilities and equipment. ACME provides a wide variety of services to enhance student learning through use of a modern student computer facility; expand faculty-student
interaction via technology-mediated communication (e.g., email, discussion lists, online chat capabilities); offer interactive instruction through a variety of delivery modes, (e.g., interactive technology responses between students and lecturer, and Web-based technology
support of medical curricular material); and to improve faculty effectiveness in the delivery of visually-rich instructional materials through minigrant opportunities focused on improving student learning. Specifi c services provided to students by ACME include computer skills training, assistance from experienced and helpful support staff, access to campus and national computing and information database and networks, a student computer laboratory, a print laboratory, and a quiet electronic resources study area.

Computers are changing medical practice, enhancing medical education, and increasing professional effectiveness. The College is currently exploring integrating personal assistance devices (e.g. Palm computing) in the curriculum. To provide a basic level of computer access to all medical students, the College of Medicine computer lab resources are at the students’
disposal. Although the College of Medicine does not require students to own computers, “recommended” computer hardware and software specifi cations
are provided each year so that students can purchase the most powerful and economical computer tools that are compatible with the College of Medicine’s course instruction and technological resources.

Medical Center Library - The mission of the Medical Center Library (MCL) (859-323-5300) is to provide access to information essential for education, research, and patient care and to promote health information literacy. The MCL is a valuable resource for the six medical center colleges, the UK Hospital, and Kentucky
health professionals. It contains a variety of journals, texts, and nonprint media and has rapid access to resources it does not own. It provides automated systems for accessing its own collection and for conducting broad information searches over electronic networks.

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College of Medicine Medical School Location

College of Medicine Courses

FIRST YEAR COURSES :

* Human Structure: Anatomy - The course consists of lecture, small group, laboratory, and palpation exercises that provide a basic understanding of anatomical principles, organization and development. Anatomical structures are introduced as a basis for future functional correlates and principles are taught via laboratory discussions, prosections, dissections, films and skeletal materials.

* Human Structure: Histology - The organization of cells, tissues and organs is presented in lectures and in the laboratory through the study of in vivo materials, histological sections and electron microscopic illustrations with focus on the correlation of structure and function. Small group discussions on select topics supplement full classroom work.

* Patient Centered Medicine - Patient Centered Medicine provides students with opportunities to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to practice patient-centered and evidenced-based care in today’s healthcare environment. This course includes a wide range of learning opportunities such as lectures, panel discussions, case presentations, small group discussions, and practice with simulated patients, workshops, patient contact, mentoring, and self-directed exercises. Medical professionalism is a major thread throughout the course; and as such, it is a significant component of student assessment and evaluation.
Students learn the foundational knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to effectively and compassionately become physician professionals, by emphasizing the model of patient-centered clinical medicine, which includes:
1. Exploring both the disease and the illness
experience
2. Understanding the whole person
3. Finding a common ground
4. Incorporating prevention and health promotion
5. Enhancing the patient-doctor relationship
6. Quality of care

* Physicians, Patients, and Society I - This course is taught in problem-based learning sessions with a small group of students and a faculty tutor. Focusing on biopsychosocial, ethical, economic, and other factors involved in human illness, this course helps students gain insight into the medical cases and situations they will encounter throughout their careers.

* Cellular Structure and Function - These courses focus on the basics of human biochemistry and genetics. The biochemistry and genetic inheritance involved in a variety of human diseases is studied. For example, glycogen metabolism and its disorders, the genetics of those disorders, and clinical examples of glycogen storage diseases are studied in an integrated fashion. Clinical correlation sessions allow students to learn from physicians treating these illnesses in practice and from the patients and families who experience these illnesses.

* Neurosciences - This interdisciplinary course, including neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neurophysiology, neurology, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, etc., describes how the nervous system functions in health and disease. Problem-based and clinical correlation sessions, as well as computer-assisted learning, are used.

* Human Function - This course provides the basics of human physiology. Clinical correlations are used to demonstrate applications in medical practice.

SECOND YEAR COURSES :

* Introduction to Medical Profession II - Advanced practice and learning based on the foundation built in Patient Centered Medicine.

* Patients, Physicians and Society II - Continuation of first-year course.

* Immunity, Infection, and Disease - This integrated study of immunity, inflammation, and infectious agents uses a variety of teaching methods including lectures, laboratories, problem-based sessions, and other clinical correlation sessions to help demonstrate applications of knowledge to medical practice.

* Mechanisms of Disease and Treatment Courses - The parallel study of human pathology, pharmacology, and psychiatry allows considerable integration of drug therapy as it relates to the specific pathology of organs or organ systems. For example, the drugs used to treat cardiac disease and the pathologic conditions of the heart are studied simultaneously. This course emphasizes didactic sessions, small-group learning, and team teaching by faculty members.

THIRD YEAR

The third-year curriculum provides the student with broad exposure to the major medical disciplines. The year balances the need for adequate exposure to and involvement with patient care with the time needed for study and assimilation of information. The clinical casework integrates related medical disciplines so that students can appreciate the broad medical and social problems that many patients encounter. Student learning occurs in hospital facilities and at ambulatory settings.

COURSES :

* Primary Care - This ambulatory-based rotation consists of four weeks each of family practice, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics. It is an integrated, team-taught course involving exposure to a variety of practice settings with an emphasis on problem-based learning and the use of the computer for literature searching and information storage. Four weeks of the rotation are spent at one of the Area Health Education Centers in rural Kentucky.

* Medical and Surgical Care - This rotation integrates medical and surgical patient care and clinical teaching. For 16 weeks, students alternate four-week rotations in internal medicine and surgery. All students use the problem-based learning method to investigate a set of clinical cases, allowing discussion by and insights from surgeons and internists.

* Clinical Neurosciences - This is an eight-week rotation of neurology and psychiatry.

* Women's, Maternal, and Child Health - This 12-week rotation allows students to participate in the care of women and children; to assist with prenatal care, birth and follow-up of mothers and infants; and to focus on the family unit. This clerkship offers the opportunity to care for women and children in both ambulatory and hospital settings. An emphasis on preventive care and issues affecting mothers and children includes child and spouse abuse, working mothers and day-care, mother-child bonding, nutrition for women and children, etc.

* Elective - An elective period at the end of the third year allows interested students to experience a specialty about which they wish to learn more, to spend an extra research period, or to take a vacation.

* Clinical Performance Exam - All students successfully complete a multi-station clinical performance evaluation (CPX) before promotion to fourth-year.

FOURTH YEAR

The fourth year of study is designed to allow students to further develop and demonstrate their clinical skills on the required acting internships. Students complete two four-week acting internships, one in a medical discipline and one in a surgical discipline. Students also complete a required four-week rotation in Emergency Medicine and 12 weeks of elective rotations at the University of Kentucky or at another approved site.

COURSES :

* Emergency Medicine - This course allows all students to gain further experience in caring for patients with emergencies, trauma, and other life threatening situations. They gain clinical experiences in university-based and community-based emergency rooms.

* Advanced Clinical Pharmacology and Anesthesiology - This course integrates basic and clinical sciences in a required fourth-year rotation. Students review clinical pharmacology and observe a variety of drug treatments in the operating room and pain clinics. Students also receive small-group critical care practice using the Human Patient Simulator.

* Dean's Colloquium - This capstone course is held one week before Senior Week and graduation and focuses on interprofessional relationships, medical jurisprudence, health care systems, and issues of managed care.

EXTRAMURAL CLERKSHIPS
Extramural clerkships provide opportunities for UK
medical students to obtain clinical experience at other
schools. During the fourth year, students select rotations from a variety of available selectives and electives.
Students, in close collaboration with appropriate faculty
advisers, tailor their fourth year to their abilities, needs,
interests, and future goals. Students with strong past
academic performance may use this opportunity to spend several months at other institutions in the United States or abroad. Students pay any related costs for this experience but are provided with College of Medicine malpractice coverage. As with all fourth-year rotations, extramural rotations must be approved by the Student Progress and Promotions Committee.

POST-SOPHOMORE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN
PATHOLOGY
The Post-Sophomore Fellowship Program in Pathology offers selected students an unusual educational opportunity in which they can consolidate and correlate the information gathered during the fi rst two years of medical school and can learn to apply this information to the study and understanding of human disease. The fellows function as fi rst-year pathology residents, under the close supervision of the departmental faculty.
The 12-month fellowship includes four months on the autopsy service, four months of surgical pathology, and four months of elective time that can be devoted to cytopathology, neuropathology, electron microscopy,
cytogenetics, or any of the divisions of laboratory medicine. Elective time can also be spent on a research project.

Fellows attend and participate actively in all departmental and interdepartmental conferences, and they gain experience in organizing and presenting their case material to these audiences. They also participate as instructors in the pathology course for second-year medical students.

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