Doctor of Medicine Program - Curriculum

Organization The entire 4 year curriculum is taught at both of Mercer’s campuses, Macon and Savannah. The curriculum has been organized and designed to support the mission of training physicians to meet the health care needs of rural and other underserved areas of Georgia by insuring a superior medical education, by developing independent, life-long learning skills and by continual practice in the application of medical knowledge to patient problems. The curriculum in the first two years is designed to facilitate the students' acquisition of fundamental knowledge and skills as well as to develop attitudes appropriate to the practice of community responsive medicine. All elements of the curriculum and testing are identical at both sites.	PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) Video

Year I and II - Biomedical Problems Program
In this program the basic medical sciences are learned through the study of clinical problems. This occurs in small group tutorial sessions. Groups of six to eight students meet three half-days per week with a tutor from the faculties of the basic or clinical sciences. The tutors are responsible for maintaining positive group dynamics and keeping the discussion relevant and at an appropriate depth. During the tutorials, the students define and discuss the basic and clinical science issues fundamental to the case under consideration. Outside the tutorials, the students study independently and/or in small groups, utilizing appropriate resources from the Library, the Learning Resources Center, and the faculty. For more information download see the 'BMP Student Manual'.

The student-oriented approach to the study of medicine is interdisciplinary and the array of biomedical problems is carefully chosen to insure that students are challenged to master the basic science concepts requisite to medical practice. Each unit of the curriculum is accompanied by a Study Guide, which includes a list of learning objectives for the unit. These objectives and the suggested references provide a guide for learning.

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 (6), neurology (7), and musculoskeletal (6). For the second year the phases are: brain & behavior (5), cardiology (6), pulmonology (6), gastrointestinal (6), renal (5), endocrinology & biology of reproduction (6).

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 Medical Ethics course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and problems of biomedical ethics. Medical Ethics classes occur during 2-week blocks in the first and second year, augmented by Medical Ethics sessions in the third year clinical clerkships. The course is capped by a Medical Ethics 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, students learn about the basic concepts in the Community Medicine I phase, a two-week course which focuses on population health issues such as epidemiology, demographics, non-biological determinants of health, health disparities, cultural competence, family systems and community needs assessment. The students then apply these concepts during a visit to a rural or underserved community-based medical practice during the Community Medicine Year 1 Visit. Community physicians serve as mentors as students provide clinical care to patients, complete family assessments and conduct a health needs assessment of the community. During year two, students continue the study of population health, focused on biostatistics and evidence-based medicine during the Community Medicine II phase. During the four-week Community Medicine Year 2 Visit, the student continues work with the community-based physician preceptor providing clinical care to patients, following up on families previously assessed, and completing a Chronic Disease Management Project. Following the third year clerkships, the students return to the same practice for four weeks to complete their learning in population-based medicine during the Community Medicine Year 4 Visit.


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.

Year IV
The Year IV program includes three 4-week experiences each in Community Medicine, Critical Care, and Emergency Medicine and 22 weeks of elective experiences, at least 8 weeks of electives must be Mercer-sponsored electives. Unscheduled time is provided for residency interviews. The Year IV program is intended to allow students to round out their clinical training experience while exploring different specialties as career options. Only 8 weeks in one subspecialty will be credited towards the 22 weeks of elective time needed for graduation. A minimum of 12 weeks of elective courses must have significant patient contact/significant patient care responsibilities.


Graduate Education - Residency Training
Mercer University School of Medicine sponsors graduate medical education programs at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon in Family Practice, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, and a Transitional year. It sponsors programs in Diagnostic Radiology, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. Affiliations exist with Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, The Medical Center, in Columbus, and Atlanta Medical Center.

Continuing Medical Education
The Office of Continuing Medical Education provides a wide array of opportunities for practicing physicians to meet their lifelong learning needs. Ongoing grand rounds are provided in Anesthesia, Behavioral Science, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery. In addition, larger conferences and symposia are held in Macon and other sites which feature School of Medicine faculty and distinguished guest faculty. The Office of Continuing Medical Education maintains computerized records of credit for all participants, publishes a monthly newsletter and calendar of events, and serves as an information/resource for physicians throughout Georgia.

Research and Scholarly Activity
At Mercer University School of Medicine there are active research programs in basic medical and clinical sciences, medical information and medical education. Most of these programs are supported with external grants from federal and private sources. The research is conducted both in and out of the Medical School building. A group of modern research laboratories accommodates most of the basic science research within the building. Faculty offices, laboratories, and educational areas are hard-wired for data and video transmission and reception. The Medical Library has an advanced computer center which is linked to physician's offices and hospital libraries throughout the state of Georgia and to the National Library of Medicine. Clinical research is based mainly at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Student participation in ongoing research projects may be arranged during elective or other periods. In addition, each medical student must complete a Community Science clinical research project as a part of the curriculum.

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