Program Overview

Program Overview

The mission-driven medical doctor (MD) program emphasizes community, relationships, and collaboration. The program is organized into three phases and focuses on five content pillars:

• Foundational sciences
• Clinical sciences
• Health systems sciences
• Health humanities sciences
• Professional identity formation

Program Structure

The program consists of three phases:

Phase One (Year One)

• Students will receive extensive clinical experience in student-led clinics.
• Students will be put into one of six houses and will spend all four years in their House, collaborating and building strong relationships with students, faculty, and community health workers.
• Clinical work begins in year one, with students spending one to two half days per week in student-led clinics.
• Essentials Courses: Learning of foundational sciences is organized into organ-system courses, with problem-based learning practiced throughout.
• Doctoring Courses: Learning clinical sciences is aligned with essentials courses and occurs within houses in the classroom and student-led clinics.
• (Skills, Community, and Professional Exploration) is a six-week intro course that teaches basic clinical skills, how to talk to patients, and where to go for help during the next four years.

Phase Two (Year Two)

• Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LICs) allow students to experience a larger scope of specialties, caring for patients, building relationships with preceptors/evaluators, and obtaining clinical competencies across many disciplines.
• Team-Based Learning: Students will use team-based learning three to four times monthly to enhance the learning and retention of core sciences.
• Houses, student-led clinics, and doctoring courses will continue.

Phase Three (Years Three-Four)

• Advanced Integrated Science Selectives: Students must take at least two selectives to prepare for residency, providing in-depth education on specific interests and practices.
• Student-Led Councils: Councils organize advanced learning opportunities for students to grow their knowledge/skills, serving interests like research, advocacy, and population health.
• Houses, student-led clinics, and doctoring courses will continue.

Roles and Assessment

To build compassionate and competent physicians, six roles will guide student learning and professional identity formation:

1. Clinician
2. Collaborator
3. Health Advocate
4. Scientist
5. Seeker
6. Communicator Formative and summative assessments will be used throughout all four years to help identify gaps in knowledge and build a growth mindset.

Medical Education Mission Statement

The Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah serves all people and communities of Utah and the Mountain West by intentionally working to improve individual and community health outcomes and quality of life. This is achieved through excellence in patient care, education, and research by:

• Purposefully educating physicians, scientists, and health care professionals to ensure compassionate, patient-centered care to all.
• Serving rural and underserved communities by addressing social determinants of health to decrease health disparities among all people.
• Engaging in scholarly research to advance knowledge, innovation, well-being, and health for all people.
• Fostering a culture of respect and community for students, trainees, staff, faculty, and community partners.