University of Mississippi (School of Medicine)

The School of Medicine’s principal responsibility is to offer an excellent, comprehensive program of medical education, biomedical research and health care. The ultimate goal of this program is improvement of the physical and mental well-being of citizens of the state, nation and, indeed, the world.

The School of Medicine’s primary goal is to offer an accredited program of medical education which will provide well-trained physicians and certain supporting health care professionals, in numbers consistent with the health care needs of the state, who are responsive to the health problems of the people and committed to medical education as a continuum which must prevail throughout professional life.

The School of Medicine’s related goals are (1) to expand the body of basic and applied knowledge in biomedical sciences; (2) to improve systems of health care delivery; (3) to demonstrate model medical care for hospitalized and ambulatory patients; and (4) to provide excellent programs of continuing education for the state’s practicing physicians.

The educational program of the School of Medicine is designed to achieve the multiple goals of dissemination of knowledge through teaching, application of knowledge through clinical practice, and creation of new knowledge through scientific research. The specific educational program objectives set forth below reflect the essential requirements for physicians to act in an ethical and altruistic fashion while providing competent medical care and fulfilling their obligations to their patients.

Graduates must have sufficient knowledge of the structure and function of the human body to recognize alterations from the normal. They must understand the various causes of such abnormalities and their pathogenesis. At the completion of the medical school curriculum, students must be able to demonstrate:

A. Knowledge of the normal structure and function of the human body and each of its major organ systems.
B. Knowledge of the molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms which help maintain the body's homeostasis.
C. Knowledge of the various causes (genetic, developmental, metabolic, toxic, microbiologic, autoimmune, neoplastic, degenerative, and traumatic) of diseases and the ways in which they impact on the body (pathogenesis).
D. Knowledge of the altered structure and function (pathology and pathophysiology) of the body and its major organ systems that are seen in various diseases and conditions.
E. An understanding of the power of the scientific method in establishing the causation of disease and efficacy of traditional and nontraditional therapies.
F. Commitment to engage in lifelong learning to stay abreast of relevant scientific advances, especially those in the disciplines of genetics and molecular biology.

The School of Medicine offers a four-year course of study leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine that is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). In addition, the School of Medicine collaborates in support of other degree and certificate programs offered by the University of Mississippi Medical Center; a combined MD-PhD program is also offered.

The purpose of the medical curriculum is to give students of high promise the opportunity to develop the
knowledge, clinical skills, attitudes and behaviors of excellent physicians. The fundamentals of medicine
are taught by a distinguished faculty in a modern, caring environment.

The curriculum in medicine consists of four academic sessions. The first two years consist of academic
sessions 37 weeks in length. During the two preclinical years, students learn the sciences basic to the
study of medicine and participate in laboratory exercises, small-group discussion, computer-assisted
learning, and independent study. The revised preclinical curriculum provides increased integration and
improved sequencing of course content and earlier clinical experience for medical students. The third
year involves full-time clinical study as students rotate through the major clinical disciplines and participate
in the team care of patients in the University Hospitals and Clinics, Veterans Affairs Medical Center
and various community settings. The fourth year consists of eight required calendar month blocks that
may be taken anytime during the eleven months available from July through May. Fourth-year clinical
clerkships provide greater depth of study in core areas of medicine as well as a student’s anticipated
medical specialty. Opportunities are available for review, advanced study and research in the basic science
departments and for electives at another institution in this country or abroad.

The degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) is conferred upon candidates of good moral character who have studied in an LCME-accredited medical school at least four academic sessions, of which the last two sessions must be spent in the regular four-year course of this school; who have properly fulfilled all academic requirements of the medical curriculum; and who have discharged all financial obligations to this school. The diploma is awarded summa cum laude to the graduate who ranks first in the class in academic achievement; magna cum laude to the next three; and cum laude to the graduates who rank five through 10.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center seeks to promote the health and well being of Mississippians by training health professionals who will care for the state’s citizens, by doing research that adds to man’s knowledge about disease and health, and by treating the illnessess of patients who come to our hospitals from all of the state’s 82 counties.

As the state’s only health sciences campus, the institution also is committed to the community at large as a source for health information and science instruction.

Two programs that reflect that outreach comittment are the MiniMed School lecture series and the Base Pair science mentorship program.

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School of Medicine Medical School Location

School of Medicine Courses

YEAR 1 COURSES :

* Medical Gross Anatomy : A study of the human body, including dissection, with an emphasis on clinical
applications.

* Medical Histology and Cell Biology : A study of the structure and function of cells, tissues and organs.

* Medical Neurobiology : A study of the human nervous systems using lecture presentations, clinical correlations
and laboratory material/demonstrations with case diagnosis.

* Medical Developmental Anatomy : A study of human development utilizing congenital defects as a basis
for understanding normal development from conception to birth.

* Medical Biochemistry : Comprehensive course in human biochemistry including protein and nucleic acid structure, enzyme function and regulation, cellular membranes, molecular genetics and protein synthesis, signal transduction and hormonal control mechanisms, vitamins, the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein, cellular bioenergetics and the synthesis of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids.

* Medical Physiology : Study of the functions of the body with special emphasis on the relationships of the different organs to each other. This course is given in the second and third quarters of the first year and the first quarter of the second year.

* Medical Genetics : Basic principles of genetics and their application to medical practice.

* Psychiatry (Behavorial Sciences and Medicine) : Introduction to the biopsychosocial model of medicine and the concept of the doctor-patient relationship.
Teaching formats include lectures and in-class patient interviews. The lecture material underscores the contribution of psychological and social variables to health and reviews normal human development, the behavioral examination of medical patients, psychosocial theories of normal and abnormal behavior, neurologic correlates of behavior, the DSM-IV, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia.

* Core Concepts in Medicine : This course will develop a framework that students will build upon as they embark on their study of medical sciences. During the course of the year, students are expected to develop the ability
to critically analyze scientific data and place it in the context of pre-existing knowledge. Both lectures and small group discussion techniques will be used. This course will be organized around five themes: The Philosophical Basis for Western Medicine; Quantitative Aspects; Cellular Structures; Integrative Processes; Professionalism and the Physician-in-Training. Each of these themes will be introduced at the beginning of the academic year, then developed in parallel with the students’ expanding knowledge base as they complete the first year. Emergency Medicine Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Biomedical Literature Skills for Evidence-Based Medicine will also be included in
the course.

YEAR 2 COURSES :

* Introduction to Clinical Medicine : Second-year medical students are introduced to clinical experience by means of a series of lectures and demonstrations. Members of all departmental faculties participate in a course designed as an introduction to clinical medicine, bridging the gap between the basic sciences and their clinical application.
Classroom instruction in history taking and physical examination is supplemented by weekly tutorial sessions conducted by members of the faculty in a ratio of one tutor to two students. Instruction is correlated with that in clinical laboratory diagnosis.

* General and Systemic Pathology : Concepts of disease. This course extends over three quarters of the
second year and is designed to give the student a broad conceptual understanding of disease processes as they relate to the ill patient. This course primarily deals with disease processes from the perspective of anatomic and clinical pathology, with pathophysiologic principles emphasized throughout. Students are also introduced to the principles of appropriate utilization of the anatomic and clinical pathology laboratories, as well as to the proper interpretation of laboratory results.
Self-study and small-group seminar teaching are emphasized as part of the case study approach, along with study of gross and microscopic surgical and autopsy material.

* Pharmacology : Students are introduced to the principles underlying the use of pharmacological agents in medical practice. Concepts related to drug distribution, drug-receptor interaction and drug metabolism are considered. In addition, the mechanism of action, therapeutic effects, adverse side-effects and common clinical applications of various drugs and drug classes are presented through a combination of lectures and clinical correlations. This course is given during the fall, winter and spring quarters.

* Medical Microbiology : The fundamentals of microbial physiology, genetics and immunology are presented
with important bacterial, viral, parasitic and mycotic infections correlated from the standpoint of etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis and laboratory diagnosis. Extends through the first and second quarters of the second year.

* Preventive Medicine : The study of the practice and methods of the preventive medicine specialties to general preventive medicine, public health, aerospace medicine, and occupational medicine, and related topics, and their clinical and basic science applications, with special emphasis on epidemiologic principles.

* Biostatistics : Basic concepts of statistical methodology and their relationships to observational and experimental studies. Topics include probability, measures of central tendency and dispersion, confidence intervals, t-tests, chi-square tests, regression, and correlation.

* Clinical Psychiatry : This course introduces students to the disorder based diagnostic system underlying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The course also succinctly reviews selected DSM diagnostic categories.

YEAR 3 COURSES :

* Family Medicine : This clerkship is designed to introduce the third-year medical student to the concepts of family medicine. The six-week experience includes a four-week preceptorship based in the office of a family physician in private practice within the state. This is a one-to-one student preceptor teaching arrangement, the
preceptor being the clinical instructor with the Department of Family Medicine. Students are matched with preceptors outside the Jackson metropolitan area. Board and lodging can be arranged for students. There is a one-day orientation and instruction period by departmental faculty to prepare the student for the preceptorship. During the remaining two weeks, the student works with Family Medicine Department faculty and residents in the inpatient setting at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. The final day of the rotation is reserved for block review and testing.

* Medicine/Neurology : This clerkship includes subject matter basic to the practice of internal medicine and neurology. The Internal Medicine component covers 8 weeks (4 weeks at UMC and 4 weeks at the VA) and the Ambulatory and Neurology component covers 4 weeks (2 weeks in an ambulatory clinic setting and
two weeks in the Department of Neurology. For each component students are assigned to clinics and hospital services at The University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Veterans Medical Center. In internal medicine, students learn to sharpen their assessment skills, record detailed histories, perform physical examinations and participate in the clinical evaluation and therapy of patients as an integral member of the treatment team, working closely with the housestaff. Full time and clinical faculty provide instruction on ward rounds seven days a week. Both faculty and housestaff evaluate the student’s performance. While assigned to medicine, students are expected to attend weekly
grand rounds and daily lecture series. During ambulatory medicine, each student will see at least one new patient
and should bring previous patients back for follow up. Students learn to recognize internal medicine as a primary care specialty, identify preventive medicine issues, develop skills in patient counseling and education and evaluate, diagnose and treat common ambulatory medicine problems. The Neurology component emphasizes diagnosis and treatment of common neurologic diseases, as well as recognition and management of emergency neurologic conditions.
Also emphasized are the neurologic history and clinical examination and the care of patients with acute and
chronic neurologic diseases. Students must successfully complete all components in order to receive credit for the clerkship.

* Obstetrics-Gynecology : The third-year rotation in obstetric-gynecology is designed to provide a strong clinical base in normal and abnormal obstetrics, gynecology, gynecologic oncology and health maintenance strategies for women. Students rotate in small groups (3-5) through labor and delivery, ward obstetrics, gynecology and gynecologic oncology over a 6 week time frame. Students participate in all aspects of ward care and second assist during their surgical cases. Obstetrical delivery experience is provided with supervision. An interactive didactic lecture series is supplemented by weekly tutorial clinical problem solving sessions with faculty preceptors. Students actively
participate in daily resident and faculty teaching rounds and attend weekly grand rounds.

* Pediatrics : Students work as clerks on inpatient services of the Children’s Hospital and in ambulatory
settings. Ward rounds, conferences and lectures are regularly scheduled. Emphasis is placed on developing the skill of each student in history-taking and the physical examination of infants and children, particularly those with disorders that are most commonly seen in this age group.

* Psychiatry : The junior clerkship in psychiatry is a 6-week rotation during which students spend 4 weeks on an inpatient service, 2 weeks on a consult service, and 1/2 day per week for the entire 6 weeks at a psychiatry outpatient clinic. Assignments are divided between the University Hospital and the Veteran’s
Administration Medical Center. The clerkship offers the opportunity to gain experience in caring for patients with psychiatric illnesses in a multi-disciplinary treatment-team approach guided by biopsychosocial principles. Attendings and residents of the department closely supervise students. Faculty provide four hours per week of lectures that focus on evaluation and management of psychiatric disorders.

* Surgery : The basic comprehensive course in surgery includes lectures, conferences, quiz sections, ward
rounds, seminars and clinical clerkship lasting for a 12-week period. Diagnosis, pre- and postoperative management, surgical therapy and physiology are emphasized. Lectures cover both general surgery and the surgical specialties. Students attend and participate in all seminars and conferences originating in the surgery department. Clinical clerkship work covers pediatric surgery, vascular surgery, trauma, general surgery and surgical subspecialties. During this
period of clinical clerkship, the student takes part in all ward rounds and assumes certain responsibilities in the care of the patients, but works under very close supervision of the faculty. A mandatory exercise in computerized literature searching is also part of the clerkship.

YEAR 4 COURSES :

* Internal Medicine : This required senior rotation in medicine will be an extension of the Junior Medicine Clerkship. Students will be assigned to the Veterans Hospital or the University Hospital. Students will
elicit histories, perform physical examinations and carry out appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures under the supervision of the house staff and attending staff.

* Ambulatory Selective : This course will concentrate on evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of the ambulatory patient. Lectures each morning will emphasize common problems in ambulatory practice. Emphasis will also be placed on prioritizing and arranging appropriate clinic follow-up of patients recently seen in the Emergency
Room. The afternoon sessions will be spent in subspecialty Internal Medicine clinics.

* Pediatrics : The student works as a clerk in the general and subspecialty clinics of the Pediatric Department. A one week preceptorship with a private practice pediatrician is optional. If this week is desired, contact must be made with the Director of the Pediatric Clinic one month in advance.

* Senior Seminar : This required course consists of a series of lectures, panel discussions, and group
discussions in which students explore a number of important topics including approach to clinical ethics, end of life issues, death and dying issues, medical malpractice and other legal issues, cultural issues and selected social issues related to medical practice.

* Surgery : Students may elect either of these courses. Students will participate in rotations at University Hospital (652-A) or Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (652-B). The student is responsible for
preoperative workup, progress notes and participation in the operations on all surgical patients. Ward round attendance and participation in all seminars held by the Department of Surgery are integral parts of this course. The student is responsible for the care of outpatients (outpatient clinics) under the supervision of staff members. The role of the student in patient care is closely akin to that of the intern. While on the general surgery rotation, the student may concurrently participate in research.

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