The first two years are divided into phases for which the basic theme is the molecular, cellular and organ bases for health and disease. First-year phases and their lengths in weeks are: cells & metabolism (6), genetics & development ( 6), host defense (6), hematology (4), neurology (7), brain & behavior (5), and musculoskeletal (6). For the second year the phases are: cardiology (6), pulmonology (6), gastrointestinal (6), renal (5), endocrinology & biology of reproduction (7), and infectious disease (4).

Fundamentals of Clinical Practice Program (FCP)
The FCP program includes the Clinical Skills course, the Bioethics course, and the Community Office Practice course. This program aims to deliver these courses in an integrated manner across the first two years of the curriculum. In the Clinical Skills course students learn the basic skills necessary for interaction with patients. These skills include interview/medical history and physical examination techniques. Students interview and examine "standardized" patients from the Standardized Patient Program. The latter group is comprised of persons who have been trained to portray specific medical problems and behavioral roles, and to give constructive feedback to the students. After learning the basic skills in the Clinical Skills course, students begin to practice their skills through the Community Office Practice (COP) course. The COP Curriculum provides medical students with the opportunity to experience and learn from clinical practice in a community office setting under the supervision of practicing community physicians.

The Biomedical Ethics course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and problems of biomedical ethics. Bioethics classes occur throughout the pre-clinical curriculum, augmented by bioethics sessions in the third year clinical clerkships. The course is capped by a bioethics manuscript in the senior year.   

Community Medicine Program 
This program is designed to familiarize students with concepts of population-based medicine and the application of these concepts in primary care settings in rural and underserved areas of Georgia. In the first year, student learn about the basic concepts in the Population-Based Medicine course. The students then apply these concepts by completing a project during a two-week visit to a rural community practice during Community Science 1. During year two, students take a course in Biostatistics and the application of biostatics in the Evidence-Based Medicine course, followed by another 4 week project to apply community-based and evidence-based principles in the community in Community Science 2.  Following the third year clerkships, the students return to the same practice for four weeks to complete their learning in population-based medicine in Community Science 4.

For more information download the 'MUSM Student Handbook'.

Year III
The Year III Program covers a 48 week period in which students are involved in service-based clerkships at the Mercer Health Systems and affiliated community teaching hospitals – Medical center of Central Georgia in Macon, and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. The clerkships include a blend of ambulatory and hospital-based patient care to provide the students with a comprehensive clinical experience necessary for a general medical education. The clerkships include Internal Medicine (12 weeks), Surgery (8 weeks), Psychiatry (6 weeks), Pediatrics (8 weeks), Family Medicine (8 weeks), and Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 weeks). Concurrently, there are ongoing seminars in radiology and ethics.  A limited number of students elect to complete their Family Medicine clerkship at our affiliated teaching facilities in Albany, Columbus, Morrow, and Rome, Georgia. A Clinical Skills experience is also provided in Year III to provide continuing refinement of patient encounter skills.

For more information download the 'Clinical Years Student Handbook'.

Year IV
The Year IV program includes a required experience in Emergency Medicine (4 weeks); a choice of “selectives” (6 weeks) which includes Critical Care, Substance Abuse, and Surgical Subspecialties; and 20 weeks of elective experiences. Students may choose to take up to 12 weeks of electives at other medical schools. Unscheduled time is provided for residency interviews. Year IV includes the final Community Science experience in an outlining practice setting. The Year IV program is intended to allow students to round out their clinical training experience while exploring different specialties as career options.

For more information see the 'Electives Program'.