Master of Medical Sciences

This course provides the basis for a successful Master of Medical Sciences (MMS) program experience using teambuilding, interpersonal interaction, reflective practice, critical listening and reading, community engagement, and hands-on skills practice. These foundational principles are critical to future health professional education. Week one includes activities centered on belonging, growth mindset, problem- and team-based learning, wellness, and resiliency. Week two emulates the format of the MMS program and preclinical curriculum with student-directed learning prior to engaged learning sessions (e.g., labs, team-based learning, etc.).

This course takes place longitudinally across the Fall Semester and will include multiple elements to include reflective practice, physical, mental, and emotional wellness activities, community service, and research. Students will be responsible for finding and setting up a community service opportunity in an approved area of interest. These opportunities should last through the Fall semester but may extend through the entire academic year. Students will be placed in small groups and using skills learned in the Foundations course, will choose, and begin work on a research project for publication or presentation at the annual MCOM Research Day. Expectations are that research projects will be started during SRS 1 and completed during SRS 2.

The Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms course is an intensive course incorporating the fundamental aspects of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, research methods, and histology. The objective of the course is to promote student learning of the biochemical, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying normal development, physiology and metabolism.

The Musculoskeletal System is an intensive multidisciplinary course structured to direct the student to develop foundational knowledge of embryology, histology, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, neuroanatomy, and gross anatomy and to understand the normal structure and function of the musculoskeletal system.

The Cardiovascular and Respiratory System course is focused on the normal structure and function of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. It is designed to provide the student with an overview of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, including histology, embryology, mechanics, and immunology.

The Hematology/Immunology components of the course emphasize the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand the normal function of hematopoiesis, hemostasis and the immune system. It is designed to provide the student with an overview of these systems, including the aberrant processes that lead to hematopathology and immunopathogenesis.

Microbiology and Infectious Disease provide a foundational introduction to pathogens, pathogenic mechanisms, and infectious diseases. This course covers bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and prions in their roles as infectious agents. The course integrates immunology content and how it relates to the body’s reactions to pathogens. It will serve as a means to migrate from acquisition of basic scientific knowledge of pathogens to utilization of such knowledge in understanding clinical infectious disease processes. You will come to understand the structure, pathogenicity, laboratory findings, and clinical aspects of numerous pathogens. Throughout the course, the language of medicine is emphasized in conjunction with etiologic mechanisms, clinical features, differential diagnoses, and morphology. This course includes introductory pharmacology of antimicrobials in order to facilitate discussion of infectious disease diagnosis and treatment. In addition, important aspects of clinical laboratory involvement and data utilization in the diagnosis of disease are discussed as appropriate.

This course takes place longitudinally across the Spring Semester and will include multiple elements to include reflective practice, physical, mental, and emotional wellness activities, community service, and research. Students will be responsible for continuing a community service opportunity in an approved area of interest. Students will continue work on a research project for publication or presentation at the annual MCOM Research Day. Expectations are that research projects will have been started during SRS 1 and completed during SRS 2.

The Gastrointestinal/Renal System Course is an intensive multidisciplinary course, designed to provide requisite knowledge necessary to understand the normal structure and function of the entire gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and renal system to include anatomy, histology, and physiology of primary gastrointestinal and renal processes.  

The Renal System Course utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to prepare students with a foundational understanding of the normal structure and function of the renal system. The basic functional principles of the organs of urine production and excretion are reviewed. Disciplines include immunology, gross anatomy, histology, and embryology of the kidney and urinary tract, with a thorough investigation of the essential physiology of kidney function involving the primary renal processes, urine formation, and renal blood flow. In addition, the renal system’s role in ion regulation, acid-base balance, fluid volume, and salt-water balance will be examined along with the regulatory control mechanisms of these functions.

The Endocrine System is designed to teach the basic principles of hormone secretion and action related to the major endocrine structures and systemic tissues. Students are expected to be familiar with the structure and function of the major endocrine glands and the action of the major hormones secreted. This course will focus on the anatomy, histology and physiology of the endocrine system. The Reproductive content is designed to teach the basic principles of hormone secretion and action related to the major reproductive structures and systemic tissues. Students are expected to be familiar with the structure and function of the major reproductive organs and the action of the major hormones secreted. This course will focus on the anatomy, histology and physiology of the reproductive system.

The Neuroscience System presents the student with an intensive introduction to the: 1) Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord) and 2) Head and Neck anatomy. The central nervous system portion of this course addresses the following topics in integrated fashion: Neuroanatomy, Neurophysiology, Neurohistology, Neuroembryology, and Behavioral Neuroscience. The studies of Neuroscience and of Head and Neck anatomy are bridged by the cranial nerves which begin in the central nervous system and distribute throughout the head and neck.