Academic Programs Catalog

College of Human Medicine

Program in Human Medicine

PROGRAM IN HUMAN MEDICINE

The professional program leading to the Doctor of Medicine degree has been accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education of the American Medical Association/American Association of Medical Colleges.

To achieve its educational goals, the college will:

  1. Recruit students from diverse academic, geographical, racial, and ethnic origins.
  2. Enact a curriculum for medical students that:
    1. is strongly influenced by the focus of educating exemplary physicians.
    2. utilizes the biopsychosocial model of medicine.
    3. is located, to the extent possible, in communities that closely approximate the environments in which students, as physicians, will ultimately provide health care.
    4. considers the needs of the population which its students will ultimately serve.
    5. emphasizes medicine as a helping profession as well as an applied science.
    6. fosters student responsibility for self–learning, peer evaluation, interactive professional discussion, and decision making in groups of health professionals.
    7. results in the preparation of graduates to enter and complete graduate medical education.
    8. can be evaluated in terms of its intended outcomes.
    9. can be modified based on assessment of its effectiveness.
    10. emphasizes preventive and health maintenance services in clinical practice.
  3. Provide oversight to integrated and affiliated community residency and fellowship programs that stress goals similar to those of the medical student curriculum.
  4. Promote and support graduate student and postgraduate programs in the disciplines basic to medicine.
  5. Provide programs whereby physicians and other health professionals can acquire the conceptual background and skills in instruction, educational planning, evaluation, research, and administration needed to function as effective faculty members.
  6. Conduct patient care programs that encourage and foster continued clinical excellence by the faculty and that provide students with examples of quality–evaluated and cost–effective patient care.
  7. Sponsor, organize, and evaluate continuing education programs in medically related fields of biological, behavioral, social, educational, and clinical sciences to assist practicing physicians and other health professionals in pursuing lifelong learning objectives, often by collaborating with community organizations and physicians.
  8. Collaborate with other colleges in providing educational programs and experiences that would expand the scope of health professions education in the University.

SHARED DISCOVERY CURRICULUM

The College of Human Medicine’s Shared Discovery Curriculum is designed to be responsive to the health care needs of Michigan, the country, and in the educational best interests of diverse learners.

The design of the curriculum is based on a set of core principles that are envisioned as the foundation to all learning within the curriculum. 

Core Principles

  1. The Virtuous Professional
    1. Competence, Compassion, Honesty, Social Responsibility, Professional Responsibility, Respect for Others
    2. Acting with Courage, Humility, Mercy
    3. Professional Growth (Dialogue, Reflection, Practice)
  2. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
    1. Building a sense of belonging in and amongst students, staff, and faculty
    2. Addressing health disparities
    3. A focus on community
  3. Competence and Mastery
    1. Supporting and achieving competence
    2. Supporting and recognizing excellence/mastery
  4. Lifelong Learning for students, faculty, and staff
  5. Rational design and implementation
    1. Scaffolded learning
    2. Decision-making based in educational theory or data
    3. Helping students become master adaptive learners
    4. Alignment of objectives, instruction, and assessment leading to curricular coherence
    5. Longitudinal integration of basic, clinical, and social science themes
  6. Authenticity
    1. Experiential learning
    2. Authentic assessments
  7. Collaboration
    1. Among faculty, staff, and students
    2. Within the profession
    3. With allied professionals
    4. With patients

Learning Societies

Students at CHM are assigned to one of four learning societies, each named after an historical figure who represents the values of the college. Within each learning society students develop a longitudinal relationship with a group of faculty. Over the first two years, these faculty will serve as coaches, advisors and mentors. Students meet regularly over the first two years within smaller units called scholar groups. Within the scholar groups, students develop collaborative problem-solving skills, reflect on their experiences and learning through debriefing and creation of ongoing learning plans, integrate their clinical experiences with underlying necessary science, and develop an identity within the profession of medicine.

The college’s curriculum is organized around a core group of competencies based on residency competencies: Service, Care of Patients, Rationality, Integration, Professionalism, and Transformation. The acronym is SCRIPT, and these are, with the exception of service, based on residency competencies adopted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Educational Program Objectives

The college's curriculum is created around core educational program objectives that are organized into six groupings:

Serving the People
Care of Patients
Reflective and Rational Approach to Learning
Integrating into Systems
Professionalism
Transforming Knowledge

Major Curricular Phases

Students engage in clinical experiences in each phase of the curriculum. The first two semesters comprise the M1 phase, and includes an early clinical experience. The next semesters comprise the M2 phase, including a middle clinical experience. Following this phase, students complete their USMLE Step 1 licensing exam. Students then transition to their M3/M4 community campus for their late clinical experience, where they complete their clinical clerkships in their M3 year, and then focus on electives, selectives, and remaining requirements during their M4 year. They complete their USMLE Step 2 licensing exam prior to graduation.

M1 Phase, including the Early Clinical Experience

The M1 (1 year student) curriculum intentionally integrates a strong foundation of necessary basicand social sciences with clinical skills and patient and health care team interactions. Students learnskills of patient-centered interviewing, core physical exam, clinical reasoning, and a variety ofpatient care skills.

The weekly activities for an M1 student includes scholar group (learning society) sessions, basicscience sessions, anatomy and integrative biomedical laboratory sessions, and clinical simulationeach week. In addition, students regularly engage in assessment activities to assess theirunderstanding and skill development, as well as sessions focused on topics such as careeradvising, health and wellness, and optimizing academic skills. 

For the Early Clinical Experience, students engage in a focused clinical block where they participate as part of the team at a primary care clinic.

M2 Phase, including the Middle Clinical Experience

The M2 (2 year student) curriculum further integrates clinical and necessary basic science and social sciences. Students continue to meet with their learning society small groups and engage in clinical simulation and basic science-focused large group sessions.

The Middle Clinical Experience as a part of the M2 curriculum includes multiple clinical rotations. Each of these rotations have their own goals and objectives, supported by a weekly rotation-based small group session precepted by faculty. 

In addition, the M2 curriculum has six non-clinical rotations, where students learn in classroom, lab, and clinical simulation settings, and engage with patient's stories while learning the underlying basic, social, and clinical sciences. 

M3 and M4 Phases, which constitute the Late Clinical Experience

At the start of the M3 phase, students complete a Transition to Clerkships course as they prepare to enter their clerkships. The M3 year of the Late Clinical Experience provides disciplinary clerkships to prepare students for residency and a career of learning in the specialty of their interest. The major disciplines are included through rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery. A two-semester course series, Advanced Skills and Knowledge, occurs during the M3 year.

During the M4 year of the Late Clinical Experience, students complete a required selective in critical care, as well as a Transition to Residency course and remaining electives. 

Electives

Before graduation, students are required to complete 28 weeks (42 credits) of approved electives. At least 4 weeks must be clinical electives completed in the community to which the student is assigned for M3/M4. At least 16 weeks (24 credits) must be clinical electives involving direct patient care, and at least 4 weeks (6 credits) of clinical electives must be completed during the final two semesters of medical school. One 4-week (6 credits) clinical elective must specifically engage in the care of medically underserved patients, and the student must obtain approval and submit reflective work associated with this experience to be approved for graduation. Students are encouraged to study broadly and/or to pursue intensively their special interests through elective programs. Varied elective courses are offered, and may include research projects, courses on varied topics, and placements in clinical settings. Students may also take elective courses at other medical schools or be placed in clinical settings other than those associated with Michigan State University.

PROGRESS ASSESSMENT

From the first semester of the curriculum, and at regular intervals throughout the curriculum, a suite of progress assessments enable students and their faculty to verify learners’ achievement of competence and readiness to advance.  Progress testing is a longitudinal competency assessment that facilitates adult lifelong learning and represents the College of Human Medicine’s graduation test for the M.D. degree.  Students are evaluated on these end-competency assessments many times in their College of Human Medicine career, and must pass these assessments in order to advance through the curriculum.

The curriculum utilizes a group of assessments that include the nationally-normed multiple choice examinations associated with a professional education but do not stop at the determination of simply what our learners “know.”  A core assessment is the Progress Clinical Skills Examination assessing actual performance with standardized patients. Other assessments include multi-source feedback by their faculty, peers, and health care team members which indicates what our College of Human Medicine students “do.”  Portfolios of evidence containing essays, multimedia, reflections, scholarly products and projects are regularly reviewed by faculty to assure that acquisition of the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes is taking place, and that learners can receive anticipatory guidance to achieve not only competence, but excellence. Ongoing data flow from these multiple types of assessments assures that students, faculty, staff, and administration are engaging in continuous quality improvement. Students are guided to focus on particular areas of challenge and opportunity.

ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM IN HUMAN MEDICINE

The College of Human Medicine Committee on Admissions strives to select qualified applicants who are academically, emotionally, motivationally, and socially competent and ready for the rigors of medical school and for a career in medicine. These competencies creates graduates who meet the bio-psycho-social needs of a diverse patient population. As a community-integrated medical school in Michigan, the college’s mission focuses on educating physicians to meet the health care needs of the people of Michigan, including the state’s underserved rural and inner-city areas. In preparation for serving a diverse patient population, the composition of the entering class of 190 students is representative of Michigan’s general population. Students come from a variety of cultural, geographic, and ethnic backgrounds. In recent history, women have comprised more than 50 percent, underrepresented minority students 20 to 25 percent, and Michigan residents 75 to 80 percent of the entering class. Since there is no preference for academic majors, applicants with varied academic backgrounds are represented in each entering class, including those with degrees in the natural sciences, applied sciences, arts, business, engineering, humanities, and social sciences.

The College of Human Medicine uses the primary application services available through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). Applicants may contact their premedical advisor, or contact AMCAS at http: //www.aamc.org for application information. The Committee on Admissions encourages students to submit the AMCAS application in June of the year prior to anticipated enrollment, but no later than the November 1 deadline date. The Committee also requires that all applicants submit Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) scores. The MCAT is administered multiple times throughout the year. MCAT scores are valid for three years. For more information about the MCAT, applicants should contact their premedical advisors, or the MCAT Program Office at www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat. For further information about the College of Human Medicine, request a copy of the CHM Handbook for Premedical Students, by contacting the College of Human Medicine at http://www.chm.msu.edu/

The admissions process will continue the college's traditional use of holistic review, which uses a balanced assessment of academic metrics, activities, and personal characteristics, and attributes when making admissions decisions. The College of Human Medicine Office of Admissions evaluates applicants’ AMCAS applications, including life experiences and personal statements, and letters of recommendation (personal characteristics and attributes), and academic profile (major, classes, GPA trends, MCAT scores, undergraduate institution). Admission officers from the admissions office act on direction from the admissions committee to evaluate the applications to determine the most qualified applicants to advance to the next phase of the admissions process, the interview. Students are invited to Interview Day to learn more about the College of Human Medicine through a series of highly-structured interviews and programs. Applicant interviews consists of a one-on-one interview with a medical students and a 100-minute, eight-station multiple mini-interview that incorporates faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other vested individuals. Interviewers are trained to assess applicants on the qualities the College associates with becoming exemplar physicians consistent with the mission of the college.

The Committee on Admissions makes the final admissions decisions based on the following cognitive and non-cognitive considerations:

  1. Academic competence including attributes such as fulfilling the premedical requirements, grades, trend in grades, degrees earned, rigors of the degree programs, MCAT scores, research experience, and cognitive skills.
  2. Experiences consistent with a commitment and success within medicine, such as clinical experiences, non-medical community service experiences, experiences with people different from self, experiences showing commitment to a community of people, mentoring experiences, leadership experiences, and teamwork experiences.
  3. Personal characteristics and attributes that are consistent with a commitment and success within medicine, such as compassion, maturity, social responsibility, professional responsibility, morals and ethics, sociability, cultural competence, self-awareness calm-disposition, honesty, competence, and respect for others.

Minimum requirements which must be fulfilled prior to enrollment in the program in human medicine are:

  1. Be a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
  2. Have a valid U.S. or Canadian Driver’s License and reliable vehicle upon matriculation.
  3. Have completed at least a four-year high school education or equivalent.
  4. Have completed all premedical requirements, including a bachelor’s degree earned in the U.S. or Canada.
  5. Have taken the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
  6. Have taken the CASPer Test.
  7. Be immunized per the CDC recommendations for health care providers.
Michigan State University-College of Human Medicine has embraced a flexible approach in providing four options (or pathways) to meeting the premedical course requirements. A description of the four premedical course requirement options can be found here: https://mdadmissions.msu.edu/applicants/prereq.html.
 
Requirements for the Doctor of Medicine Degree
1. All of the following courses (90 credits):
FM 641 Family Medicine Clerkship 9
HM 552 Medical School I 16
HM 553 Medical School II 13
HM 603 Transition to Clerkships 1
HM  651 Advanced Skills and Knowledge in Medical School I 3
HM  652 Advanced Skills and Knowledge in Medical School II 3
HM 673 Transition to Residency 3
MED  641 Internal Medicine Clerkship 9
OGR  641 Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship 9
PHD  641 Pediatric Clerkship 9
PSC  641 Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Clerkship 6
SUR 651 Surgery Clerkship 9
2. One of the following combinations (32 credits):
a. Two (2) semester series
HM 565 Integrated Medical School III 16
HM 566 Integrated Medical School IV 16
b. Three (3) semester series
HM 562 Medical School III 13
HM 563 Medical School IV 13
HM 564 Integrated Topics in Human Medicine 6
3. One of the following Critical Care Selective courses (6 credits):
MED 643 Medicine Critical Care 6
PHD 643 Pediatric Critical Care 6
SUR 643 Surgical Critical Care 6
4. Completion of 28 weeks of Elective Clerkships (42 credits):
ANES 619 Introduction to Anesthesiology - An Anesthesia Primer 3
ANES 620 Chronic Pain Management 6
ANES 621 Concepts in Clinical Anesthesiology I 6
ANES 622 Concepts in Clinical Anesthesiology II 6
ANTR 685 Directed Study in Clinical Prosection  3 or 6 
EM  631 Clinical Experience in Emergency Medicine  3 or 6 
EM  632 Senior Clinical Elective in Emergency Medicine  6
EM  633 Emergency Medicine Sub-Specialty Clinical Elective  3 or 6 
FM  610 Outpatient Family Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
FM  611 Geriatric Clerkship  3 or 6 
FM  612 Inpatient Family Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
FM  613 Clinical Research in Family Medicine 6
FM 614 Breastfeeding and Lactation 3
FM 615 Addiction Medicine 3
FM  616 Rural Family Medicine Elective  6
FM  617 Sports Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
FM  618 Palliative and End of Life Care Clerkship  3 or 6 
FM 619 Telemedicine Medicine Experiences in Rural Clinical Settings 3
FM 620 Family Practice Subinternship  6
FM 621 Advanced Addition Medicine 3
HM 606 Student-Designed Non-Clinical Elective 3 or 6
HM 607 Medical Reading Elective 3 or 6
HM  608 Sub-Specialty Clerkships  6
HM  609 Laboratory Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
HM  610 Pathology Clerkship  3 or 6 
HM  611 Hospice Clerkship  3 or 6 
HM  612 Pain Medicine  3 or 6 
HM  613 Complementary Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
HM  614 Student-Designed Clinical Elective  3 or 6 
HM  615 Global Health Experience in India  3 or 6
HM  616 Radiation Oncology Clerkship  3 or 6 
HM 617 Introduction to Simulation Education Elective 3 or 6
HM  622 Medical Partners in Public Health Community Resources and Wellness Programs  3 or 6 
HM  623 Medical Partners in Public Health Capstone Project Elective  3 or 6 
HM 627 Interdisciplinary Exploration with Special Populations: Veterans Affairs 6
Hm 628 Racism and Other Health Disparities 3
HM  629 Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved Community Elective  3 or 6 
HM  631 Leadership in Medicine for Underserved Urban or Global Elective  3 or 6
HM  632 Rural Community Health  3 or 6
HM  633 Advanced Rural Community Health  3 or 6 
HM 634 Indigenous Community Health 3 or 6
HM 638 Lifestyle Medicine 3 or 6
HM  639 Northern Wilderness, Emergency and Sports Medicine  6
HM 648 Care of Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Elective 3 or 6
HM  691 Research Clerkship  3 or 6
MED  609 Hematology Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  610 Oncology Clerkship  3 or 6
MED  611 Cardiology Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  612 Nephrology Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  613 Dermatology Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  614 Pulmonary Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  615 Gastroenterology Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  616 Allergy Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED 617 Sleep Medicine 3 or 6
MED  618 Infectious Disease Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  619 Advanced Internal Medicine - Ambulatory  3 or 6
MED  621 Advanced Internal Medicine - Inpatient  3 or 6
MED  622 Endocrinology and Metabolism Clerkship  3 or 6
MED  624 Geriatric Clerkship  3 or 6
MED  626 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  627 Rheumatology Clerkship  3 or 6
MED  628 Advanced Internal Medicine: Senior Medicine Sub-Internship  6
MED  632 Occupational Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
MED  634 Advanced Internal Medicine: Intensive Care Medicine/Critical Care  3 or 6 
MED  636 Advanced Internal Medicine: Medicine/Pediatrics  3 or 6 
NOP  617 Clinical Experience in Neurology 3 or 6
NOP  620 Ophthalmology Clerkship  6
NOP 630 Senior Clinical Elective in Neurology 6 to 12
OGR  609 Advanced Gynecology Clerkship  3 or 6
OGR  610 Perinatology Clerkship  3 or 6
OGR  611 Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clerkship  3 or 6 
OGR  612 Gynecologic Oncology Clerkship  3 or 6 
OGR  614 Advanced Obstetrics Clerkship  3 or 6 
OGR  615 Obstetrics and Gynecology Sub-Internship  6
PHD  601 Human Development and Pediatric Sub-specialties  3 or 6 
PHD  602 Ambulatory Pediatrics Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  603 Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  604 Neonatology  3 to 12
PHD  605 Pediatric Cardiology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  606 Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  607 Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  608 Pediatric Pulmonary Disease Clerkship  3 or 6
PHD  609 Pediatric Genetics Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  610 Pediatric Allergy-Immunology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  611 Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  612 Pediatric Gastroenterology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  613 Pediatric Emergency Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  614 Pediatric Nephrology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  615 Pediatric Neurology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  616 Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  617 Pediatric Adolescent Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  618 Pediatrics Sub-Internship  3 or 6
PHD  619 Pediatric Hospital Medicine Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  620 Child Abuse Pediatrics Clerkship  3 or 6 
PHD  621 Pediatric Rheumatology Clerkship  3 or 6 
PSC  609 Adult Psychiatry Clerkship  3 or 6 
PSC  610 Child Psychiatry Clerkship  3 or 6 
PSC  611 Addiction Psychiatry Clerkship  3 or 6 
PSC  612 Geriatric Psychiatry Clerkship  3 or 6 
RAD  609 Radiology Clerkship  3 or 6 
RAD 610 Advanced Imaging 3
RAD  612 Interventional Radiology  3 or 6 
SUR  609 Otolaryngology Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  610 Plastic Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  611 Urology Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  612 General Surgery Sub-Internship  6
SUR  613 Orthopedic Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  614 Neurosurgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  615 Ophthalmology Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  616 Cardiothoracic Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  617 Critical Care Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  618 Anesthesia Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  619 Sub-specialty Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  622 Pediatrics Orthopedic Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  623 Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  624 Vascular Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  625 Hand Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  626 Pediatric Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  627 Burns Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  628 Trauma Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  629 Colorectal Surgery Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  630 Surgical Wound Care Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  631 Surgical Oncology Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR  632 Surgical Nutrition Clerkship  3 or 6 
SUR 634 Neurosurgery Sub-Internship 6
SUR 635 Perioperative Trauma Medicine 6

Transfer Credits

For a student who is pursuing a full-time M.B.A. degree from MSU jointly with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from Michigan State University - College of Human Medicine, a maximum of 12 credits from the MSU College of Human Medicine may be transferred to the full-time M.B.A. degree program.

Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Admission Pathway

MSU-CHM provides an Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) Pathway for students accepted to the College of Human Medicine who have successfully completed a D.D.S degree and have been accepted to the Henry Ford Hospital Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program. These students will begin the M2 year upon matriculation, and will complete the remainder of the M.D. program credits through the MD/OMFS residency track program, receiving a waiver for 41 credits. OMFS students must complete all listed Requirements for the Doctor of Medicine degree except for the differences outlined here:
  • Exempted from taking HM 552 and HM 553.
  • Instead of HM 562, must complete HM 544 Med School III, 10 credits.
  • Instead of HM 564, must complete HM 549 Integrated Topics in Human Medicine, 9 credits.
  • From the Critical Care Selectives, OMFS students must complete MED 643 Medicine Critical Care, 6 credits.
  • Must complete a total of 30 credits of electives for graduation, and are exempted from 12 credits. One elective must be SUR 635 Perioperative Trauma Medicine, 6 credits.