Curriculum
UW School of Medicine and Public Health boasts an innovative learning environment that emphasizes new methods of teaching and assessment. The school’s ground-breaking methods have been adopted by peer institutions around the United States. For example, our Generalist Partners Program, now an integral part of our first- and second-year curriculum in the Patient, Doctor and Society course, was the first of its kind in the nation to integrate community-based, primary care physicians in teaching introductory clinical skills to first- and second-year students. Students are assigned to clinics around the region to observe doctors and to interact with patients to develop basic skills in communication, physical examination and ethics.

Wireless technology and multimedia resources are integrated into a range of learning environments. Our courses are taught by dedicated, caring faculty who are professionally active in a wide variety of research.

Our “statewide campus” includes clinical training sites in nine communities throughout Wisconsin, with principal locations in Madison, La Crosse, Marshfield and Milwaukee. The statewide campus also assures an optimal patient load and interaction with clinical faculty and house staff. Housing and parking are provided free for students at each away site.

Focus
UW W School of Medicine and Public Health focuses on:

• interdisciplinary learning through courses, elective opportunities and interaction with other health sciences students at the Health Sciences Learning Center;
• team teaching, including university- and community-based faculty and staff, and student tutoring;
• new methods of assessing student mastery of defined skills;
• continuous, comprehensive evaluation of programs;
• community-based service learning projects;
• integration of public health into all four years of the curriculum;
• collaborating with students by including them in decision making.

Programs
The school also has developed several opportunities to enhance learning, including:

• a faculty development program;
• opportunities to learn from and share knowledge and experiences with other medical and health sciences students through interactions in the school’s learning communities;
• a peer evaluation process to identify areas for curriculum improvement;
• a statewide network for clinical learning opportunities through the Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) System and our statewide clinical campus;
• an annual Medical Education Day for faculty, staff and students;
• a combined five-year MD/MPH program (under development).

First- and second-year courses provide an optimal balance between hands-on and didactic/independent learning, featuring a lively and varied educational experience through multiple teaching formats. These include lectures, small group discussions, labs, case-based learning, interdisciplinary approaches and adaptation of Web-based materials.

Diverse clinical experiences are the cornerstone of our third-year curriculum. Students rotate through clinical clerkships across the state, gaining a deep understanding of healthcare delivery in a variety of settings. They learn in small, community-based primary care facilities; large clinics and hospitals serving inner city patients; and tertiary care facilities such as UW Hospital and Clinics in Madison.

Third-year students also rotate through core clerkships. The remainder of the third and fourth years are tailored to each student’s career goals or interests, with flexibility for students to include advanced electives or vacation time. Efforts are made to accommodate each student’s preference for sequence and location when scheduling the third year.

The flexibility of the fourth year allows students to pursue clinical electives in a specialty area, as well as take electives at other institutions or in other countries. All fourth-year students experience a sub-internship in internal medicine, electives in a surgical area and a preceptorship. UW School of Medicine and Public Health preceptorships immerse students in a community-based clinical environment in a one-on-one relationship with a physician.

To view a full description of our curriculum, you may download a PDF file.