University of North Dakota (School of Medicine & Health Sciences)

The UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences was established in 1905 as a basic medical science school offering the first two years of medical education. In
1973, legislative action created an expanded curriculum
and authorized the granting of the doctor of medicine
(M.D.) degree. As an interim plan, the curriculum known
as the 2:1:1 plan was instituted, providing freshman and
sophomore years at UND, the junior year at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine or the Mayo Medical School, and the final year in North Dakota for elective clerkships at community hospitals within the state.

The 1981 Legislature authorized the teaching of the
third year in North Dakota beginning with ten students on
the Fargo campus in 1982-83. Forty students received
their third-year training in North Dakota in 1983-84 and in
1984-85 third-year training was available to all students
entering the School of Medicine, thus giving North Dakota a complete, in-state medical education program with the administrative center in Grand Forks and regional campuses in Bismarck, Fargo and Minot.

As the School of Medicine and Health Sciences has
developed into a four-year, degree- granting program, the full-time faculty has grown to nearly 130, with more than 900 clinical faculty serving on a part-time or voluntary basis in communities throughout the state.
The School of Medicine and Health Sciences also
includes the departments of occupational therapy and
physical therapy. Degree programs are offered in clinical laboratory science, cytotechnology, athletic training, and the Physician Assistant Program - all of which have separate accreditation requirements.

The mission of the University of North Dakota School
of Medicine and Health Sciences is to educate and prepare physicians, medical scientists and other health professionals for service to the people of North Dakota and the nation, and to advance medical and biomedical knowledge through research.

Area campuses in Bismarck, Fargo, Minot and Grand
Forks have been established by the UND School of
Medicine and Health Sciences for the training of undergraduate medical students and for postgraduate residency programs and continuing education activities for health professionals.

Local physicians on each campus serve as preceptors
for junior and senior medical students. Community
hospitals, clinics, physicians’ offices, nursing homes and other health care facilities provide the clinical settings for undergraduate and graduate medical education.
Community resources involved in medical care services,
such as mental health centers, alcoholic treatment units,
public health clinics, etc., also are utilized in the education programs. Instruction is carried out within these rural and urban facilities by the physician-faculty of the medical school. A broad spectrum of experience is available. Affiliated teaching hospitals include, in addition to community hospitals, the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Fargo and the United States Air Force hospitals in Minot and Grand Forks.

On each campus, a regional advisory committee consisting of representatives of educational and health care institutions works in liaison with the campus dean to effectively accomplish the integration of medical school programs and community resources. Campus deans are responsible to the dean of the medical school. They serve as an extension of the Office of Student Affairs, advising medical students and working closely with all departments of the medical school.

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences is fully
accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical
Education of the American Medical Association and the
Association of American Medical Colleges.
The School of Medicine and Health Sciences offers
accredited undergraduate degrees in the allied health
fields of clinical laboratory science, cytotechnology and
athletic training; master of science degrees in occupational therapy and clinical laboratory science; a master of physician assistant studies, and a doctor of physical therapy degree. In the basic medical sciences, doctor of philosophy and master of science degrees are offered in anatomy and cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, microbiology and immunology, and pharmacology, physiology, and therapeutics. Postgraduate medical residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery and psychiatry are offered as well as a transitional year program.

The Graduate School of the University of North Dakota offers programs leading to master’s and doctoral degrees through graduate work in many departments of
the university. The courses, seminars, research and independent study are offered by the respective departments.
The direction of work for inclusion in thesis and dissertations to be submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements is supervised by the Graduate Faculty of the university. The Graduate Faculty is composed of members elected to it from the regular departmental faculty.

The Graduate School administers the following degree programs in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences: Anatomy and Cell Biology (M.S., Ph.D.);
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (M.S., Ph.D.); Clinical
Laboratory Science (M.S.); Microbiology and Immunology
(M.S., Ph.D.); Occupational Therapy (M.S.O.T.);
Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics (M.S.,
Ph.D.); Physical Therapy (D.P.T.), and Physician Assistant Studies (M.P.A.S.). Requirements for these degrees are detailed in the Graduate Catalog, copies of which may be obtained from the Graduate School, Twamley Hall 414.

Each year the UND School of Medicine and Health
Sciences adds seven places in its medical school freshman class and two places in both its physical therapy and occupational therapy programs for fully-qualified American Indian students who participate in the Indians into Medicine (INMED) program. Applications for these slots are accepted from enrolled members of federally recognized tribes throughout the United States.

The school’s INMED program, in operation since
1973, was initially developed to compensate for the termination of the federal doctor draft, which had previously been a source of physicians to serve American Indian communities. INMED has assisted approximately 20 percent of this country’s Indian physicians with their education.
The number of INMED slots in the freshman class
was increased from five to seven through a 1989 Satellite Office Agreement with the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. Two of the seven INMED students admitted to each class transfer to the University of South Dakota School of Medicine after successful completion of the curriculum of the first two years. These two students complete the requirements for the M.D. degree and graduate from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine.

The Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences,
named in honor of a former dean of the School of Medicine, is located in the Karl Christian Wold, M.D., Bio-Information Learning Resources Center which opened in 1995. In addition to a traditional collection of 108,000 books, periodicals and audiovisual programs, the library offers access to a growing array of electronic resources. More than 1,600 electronic journals, many electronic books, and specialized bibliographic databases are available within the library, from other locations on campus, and from selected teaching sites around the state. The library’s online catalog, ODIN, includes the holdings of most of the college, university and hospital libraries in the
state, as well as several public libraries.
The Harley E. French Library coordinates the clinical
campus library network, with affiliated libraries in
Bismarck, Fargo and Minot. This network links all medical
facilities in the state and provides information resources to health professionals and students throughout North Dakota.

The UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences is
located in an interconnected complex of new and renovated facilities on the northeast edge of the UND campus in Grand Forks. The new additions include the Edwin C. James Medical Research Facility (completed in 1994) and the Karl Christian Wold, M.D., Bio-Information Learning Resources Center (completed in 1995) which houses the Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences. The complex includes the Center for Rural Health; department offices, classrooms and laboratories for instruction of medical students in the basic medical sciences, and teaching facilities for nursing, clinical laboratory science, physical therapy, physician assistant and graduate programs, as well as administrative offices. In the fall of 2000, the Biomedical Research Facility opened as part of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences complex at Sixth Avenue North and North Columbia Road. In the fall of 2004, the Neuroscience Research Facility was completed and opened at Hamline and Fifth Avenue North, immediately
west of the medical school complex.

Students enrolling at the University of North Dakota
School of Medicine and Health Sciences generally receive their M.D. degree after four years of successful study. They complete the first two years on the Grand Forks campus. For the third year, the traditional curriculum is provided on the Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks campuses or students may opt to participate in ROME (Rural Opportunities in Medical Education), completing seven months of the third year in a rural setting. In the fourth year, students study on one of the four clinical campuses at Grand Forks, Fargo, Bismarck or Minot.

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School of Medicine & Health Sciences Medical School Location

School of Medicine & Health Sciences Courses

FIRST AND SECOND YEARS

The basic science and clinical medicine content focuses on fundamental concepts that serve as the foundation
for the more advanced concepts encountered in the later phases of the curriculum. Integrated basic science
and clinical medicine are taught in a series spanning
Blocks I-VIII via a combination of lectures and small group Patient-Centered Learning (PCL) and Introduction to Patient Care (IPC) activities. Each block includes eight
weeks of instruction, one week of assessment and one
week for special studies. The first year of the medical
education curriculum is comprised of Blocks I-IV (40
weeks), arranged in a “systems approach.” These four
blocks include biological, behavioral and social sciences;
basic clinical skills, and integrative clinical correlations.
Blocks V-VIII, the second year of the medical student curriculum (40 weeks), focuses on pathobiology and includes an acute ambulatory care experience (ACE).
Using the PCL format, small group learning sessions
are designed to facilitate the integration of the basic sciences with clinically relevant cases. The small-group sessions stress independent learning to strengthen individual problem-solving skills. Advanced biological, behavioral and social concepts are presented throughout the curriculum. Emphasis is placed on instruction, the assessment of student performance, and development of independent learning skills necessary for establishing a personal commitment
to lifelong learning.

The curriculum for Years 1 and 2 is designed to bridge the gap between the preclinical and clinical years by developing and fostering the students’ understanding
of clinical problems. The students begin interacting with
patients during the first semester in both the physician
wrap-up session each week in PCL and throughout
Introduction to Patient Care (IPC) components of the curriculum. To be successful, students must synthesize large amounts of information, effectively apply science concepts to clinical problems, and integrate concepts across disciplines.
They learn the dynamics of the doctor-patient
relationship, how to interview patients, and how to conduct physical examinations.

COURSES :

* Block I: Functional Biology of Cells and Tissues; Interviewing and Professionalism : Topics for this course include: genes and chromosomes, proteins,
metabolism, replicative behavior of cells, intercellular and
intracellular communication, architecture of cells and tissues, early development, medical terminology, interviewing, doctor-patient relationship, and ethics.

* Block II: Biology of Organ Systems I; The Physical Examination : Topics for this course include: cardiovascular biology, air conduction and respiration,
the immune system, the musculoskeletal system, the peripheral nervous system and physical examination.

* Block III: Biology of Organ Systems II; Human Life Cycle I : Topics for this course include: GI tract, the liver and biliary system, exocrine pancreas, the renal and urinary system, reproduction, endocrine, and human life cycle biopsychosocial aspects.

* Block IV: Biology of the Nervous System; Human Life Cycle II : Topics for this course include: the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system revisited, biology of special sensory structures,
human life cycle biopsychosocial aspects.

THIRD AND FOURTH YEARS

Students are taught in clinical settings throughout the
third and fourth years. These experiences provide students exposure to clinical milieus ranging from physician practices in a rural health care system to urban medical centers. The curriculum model provides students a strong generalist base, regardless of their final career choice.
Third-year students have an option to participate in a traditional clerkship experience or a rural educational experience.

The Traditional Third-year Curriculum consists of the
following six clerkships of eight weeks each on the
Southwest (Bismarck), Southeast (Fargo), and Northeast (Grand Forks) campuses: Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry. In addition, students take a longitudinal clinical epidemiology course during the third year.
Rural Opportunities in Medical Education (ROME) is
a seven-month interdisciplinary experience in a rural primary care setting open to third-year students. Students live and train in a nonmetropolitan community under the supervision of physician preceptors. A goal for the ROME program is to expose students to practicing medicine in rural areas throughout the state. One-month rotations in internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics; and two months in psychiatry are completed at their home campus following the ROME experience.

Acting Internships in internal medicine and surgery
are required in the fourth year. Each internship is four
weeks and is designed to teach students how to function in the hospital setting at the level of a first-year intern. Students fine tune their skills for making the initial patient contact, taking a patient history, performing a physical examination, formulating problem lists and a diagnostic plan, developing a therapeutic plan, writing orders, doing patient follow-up, writing progress notes and discharge notes. Each student requires supervision of a committed senior resident or physician on site.

Six electives (four weeks each) are required. The Senior Colloquium is a offered just prior to graduation
and may include, but is not limited to, such topics as professionalism, resident clinical teaching skills, evidence- based medicine, a pharmacology update including pharmocogenomics on drugs, the impaired colleague, how to survive residency, financial planning, credentialing and loan repayment.

COURSES :

* Block V: Introduction to Pathobiology; Evidence-based Medicine : Topics for this course include: reaction to injury (cell injury, cell death), inflammation, repair and regeneration, fluid imbalance, disorders of inheritance, disorders of immunity, neoplasia, infection, vidence-based medicine and an ambulatory care experience (ACE).

* Block VI: Pathobiology I; The Doctor and Society : Topics for this course include: disorders of red cells and bleeding disorders, disorders of white cells, lymph nodes and spleen, Cardiovascular I — vascular system,
Cardiovascular II — heart, respiratory tract, ear, nose, and throat, doctor and society, and an ambulatory care experience (ACE).

* Block VII: Pathobiology II; Prevention and Clinical Skills : Topics for this course include: GI tract, liver and biliary
system, exocrine pancreas, Renal 1 — glomerular
disease, Renal 2 — tubular and interstitial disease, lower urinary tract, male reproductive system, female reproductive system, breast, prevention, nutrition, clinical skills, and an ambulatory care experience (ACE).

* Block VIII: Pathobiology III; Psychopathology and Substance Abuse : Topics for this course include: diabetes mellitus, endocrine other than diabetes mellitus, skeletal system and soft connective tissue, skin,
peripheral nervous system and skeletal muscle, central
nervous system and special senses, environmental and
nutritional diseases, psychopathology, substance abuse
and an ambulatory care experience (ACE).

* Clinical Epidemiology : A longitudinal course for third-year students which provides an introduction in biostatistics and epidemiology. The effect of disease on communities, rather than individuals, is emphasized.

* Senior Colloquium : Topics for this course may include, but are not limited to, the following: evidence-based medicine, professionalism, update on drugs, clinical teaching skills, how to survive residency, the impaired colleague, medical licensure, credentialing and financial planning. This course is redesigned each year to fit the students’ needs.

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