Program: Medicine, M.D. - University of South Florida (2024)

Core Requirements

• BMS 6825 Doctoring I Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6826 Doctoring II Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6816 Cancer Biology Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6836 Evidence-Based Clinical Reasoning Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6837 Evidence-Based Clinical Reasoning II Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6640 Musculoskeletal System Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6641 Neurological System Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6633 Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Systems Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6639 Gastrointestinal, Endocrine, Renal and Reproductive Systems Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6041 Infection and Immunity Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6042 Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Renal System Credit Hours: var.
• BMS 6043 Neurology, Endocrinology, Reproductive Health, Rheumatology, and Dermatology Credit Hours: 1-18
• Credit Hours: var.

Year 1-2 Medical Science Courses

Years 1 and 2 of the curriculum are an integrated continuum that introduce students to an organ system-based overview of normal and disease processes, increasing the emphasis on diseases and therapy as the courses progress. Courses vertically integrate anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, cell biology, biochemistry, microbiology and pharmacology relevant to the organ systems under study.

Selective seminars in several areas of the students’ choosing (e.g., advances in radiology, sun and skin, neurosurgery principles, etc.) designed to give the students elective options with a goal of developing career plans. Taken twice, once per year.

Year 3 Clinical Clerkships
MCOM clinical clerkships in Tampa emphasize an integrative process of patient care from a patient perspective, vs. the traditional departmental-based approach. Multiple departments interact to deliver the curriculum at principal clinical sites including Tampa General Hospital, Haley VA Medical Center, All Children’s Hospital, and the Morsani Center for Advanced Patient care. The year includes 4 weeks of elective time of the student’s choosing to explore non-clerkship career options or pursue research.

Year 4 Electives/Selectives
Year 4 is focused on preparation for residency, building advanced clinical skills, and exploration of areas of medicine of interest to the student. Nine months of coursework are required, including:

1. Four months of work in a specialty track that prepares students for a specific residency discipline, including:
   1. An Acting Internship with direct patient management responsibility (1 month)
   2. A return to basic science in the discipline of the track, involving both clinical and basic science approaches to the discipline (2-4 weeks)
   3. 1-2 months of specialty, consultative, or other selectives
2. Five months of additional coursework, which may include independent study electives, externships at other approved/accredited medical centers, and additional electives of the student’s choice.

CORE Program Overview

The CORE program is based in Tampa for four years and features a strong preclinical integrated curriculum with small group and engaged learning emphasis, integrated clerkships, and year 4 career tracks that prepare you for the residency of your choice. The Scholarly Concentration option allows you to focus and develop yourself in an area of interest outside the normal curriculum in fields such as Health Care Disparities, Engineering, Business, and Medical Education, among others.

SELECT Program Overview

Building Leadership Competencies and Emotional Intelligence

MD Select is a self-supporting program. A cost comparison of tuition and fees can be found here.

The SELECT program is based in Tampa (2 years) and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania (2 years). It has the same integrated curriculum focus as the CORE program, but also offers additional training in Leadership, Health Systems, and Values-based Patient Centered Care, all important domains for developing medical leadership. This increased emphasis on leadership (in one on one coaching, small groups, seminars) is a focused alternative to the Scholarly Concentration program for students who want to concentrate on developing their medical leadership skills.

The USF Health MCOM SELECT program (Scholarly Excellence. Leadership Experiences. Collaborative Training.) prepares students to be physician leaders who can accelerate change in health care. The program recruits and develops students with the intellectual perspective, empathy, creativity and passion to change patient care, the health of communities and the medical profession. The founding principle of SELECT is the concept that students with high emotional intelligence are more likely to develop the skills needed to transform health care and improve the health of communities. In essence, students with a strong foundation in emotional intelligence will become more engaged, compassionate physicians who will connect deeply with their patients and their patients’ families; feel more comfortable with and be more effective as team leaders and team members; and have the relationship building skills and systems perspectives to more effectively lead change in health care organizations.

One of the most distinctive features of SELECT is the opportunity for medical students to shape their educational experiences at both a highly progressive, student-centered medical campus, the USF MCOM in Tampa, FL, AND at one of the country’s top health networks known for its quality, safety, and lean approach to driving efficiency in healthcare, the Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, PA. The first class was admitted in 2011, and 56 students are now admitted annually. Students admitted to SELECT spend their first two years taking classes at the USF Morsani College of Medicine’s Tampa campus, and then go to Lehigh Valley campus for two years of clinical education. Students admitted to SELECT develop leadership skills that will arm them with the knowledge, resources, and network to change the healthcare landscape for the better. These include:

• Making a difference in the lives of patients, peers, community, and hospitals.
• Applying continuous improvement approaches to optimize healthcare quality, patient safety, and efficient use of resources.
• Building resilience to operate efficiently in complex health systems.
• Acquiring tools to become a change catalyst.
• Becoming a driving force for the evolution of healthcare quality.