Educational Program Mission
The OU College of Medicine mission (which includes the educational program mission) is "Leading health care in patient care, education, and research." The undergraduate medical education program contributes to this mission through its graduates that achieve the stated educational program objectives.
The college vision is to be the premiere enterprise for advancing health care, medical education, and research for the community, state, and region. Through our combined efforts we strive to improve the lives of all people.
Overview
The OU College of Medicine MD program consists of basic science and clinical coursework designed to help students master the core knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the practice of medicine. The four-year curriculum consists of two track options: the traditional track offered on the main academic medical center campus in Oklahoma City and the School of Community Medicine (SCM) track offered on the branch campus in Tulsa. While the core curriculum on both campuses is identical, the SCM track emphasizes community-based healthcare and the healthcare needs of the under-served. Students must choose a track during the admissions process.
The core curriculum is guided by six competency areas: Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, and Systems-Based Practice. The curriculum emphasizes the human and personal qualities of professional development and the scientific foundations of medicine. Patient contact is a major component of each of the four years of medical school beginning with student interactions with standardized patients and extending to hospital and ambulatory settings during subsequent coursework. Students are required to take and pass Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) prior to beginning third year clinical rotations. Students must take the USMLE Step 2 examination (including the Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills components) during the fourth year and report their score.
Preclinical Curriculum (Years One and Two)
The College offers a modern integrated, systems-based preclinical curriculum. The preclinical curriculum is designed to emphasize the connections between basic and clinical science concepts, promote learning and retention, encourage independent study and self-assessment, and provide students with opportunities to complement their basic science coursework with enrichment experiences. Students are divided into small "module" groups, a unique aspect to our medical school.
Classroom and laboratory studies are complemented with clinical demonstrations and case studies, problem and team-based learning, and an extensive online curriculum. The preclinical curriculum includes early exposure to patients in the integrated Clinical Medicine I and II courses. Students learn interviewing skills on standardized patients and practice clinical skills in a new state-of-the-art clinical skills center. The second year curriculum concludes with a novel Capstone course designed to facilitate the integration of concepts introduced during the systems-based courses and prepare students for USMLE Step I.
Clinical Curriculum (Years Three and Four)
Depending on which educational track the student is enrolled in, the clinical curriculum will be taken at either the Oklahoma City or the Tulsa campus. The clinical curriculum in Oklahoma City is primarily based at the OU Medical Center and Veterans Affairs hospitals. The Tulsa clinical curriculum uses community hospitals such as Saint Francis Hospital, St. John Hospital, and Hillcrest Medical Center.
All clinical students are required to take core clerkships in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Geriatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery. During the clinical curriculum students select three two-week "selective" courses from a variety of sub-specialty areas. Senior students participate in the National Residency Match Program to secure their residency program positions.