Weill Cornell Medical College Curriculum Overview

Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) is committed to providing its students with a comprehensive and innovative medical education. The curriculum is designed to integrate patient care and scientific study, fostering well-rounded physicians who are prepared to meet the challenges of modern healthcare. This article will provide an overview of the key components and unique features of the WCMC curriculum.

Curriculum Foundations

The foundations that make for a great doctor are firmly rooted in medical training and education, and lie at the heart of Weill Cornell Medical College's (WCMC) exciting new curriculum.

In 2010, in response to emerging innovative medical technologies and rapidly advancing scientific discoveries, a committed group of faculty, students and leadership began to plan this new curriculum, which is being phased in with the incoming Class of 2018. The new curriculum consists of a series of "Learning Units," beginning August of Year 1 and extending through Year 4. In addition, three themes are incorporated throughout the four years: the scientific basis of medicine, patient care, and "physicianship" - the special skill set needed by physicians, such as communication, medical ethics, and professionalism).

WCMC’s curriculum emphasizes early clinical exposure, integration of basic and clinical sciences, and opportunities for students to pursue their interests through specialized areas of study. The traditional sharp boundaries between two years of basic science, followed by two years of clinical medicine, have blurred. A major change in our curriculum now brings in basic science - especially translational science - into the third-year clerkships through a variety of possible venues (e.g., clinicopathological conferences, translational science seminars, rounding with basic science faculty and e-learning modules that return to science in a clinical context). Similarly, students are introduced to clinical experiences early in their training.

Essential Principles of Medicine (EPOM)

Incoming students begin their medical school training with Essential Principles of Medicine (EPOM), an introduction to the fundamental concepts in basic scientific disciplines that students need before going on to the normal and abnormal biology. EPOM consists of 7 learning units, including anatomy (which runs through the entire segment). They then begin the 10-unit organ-based segment Health, Illness, and Disease, which focuses on both the physiology and pathophysiology of each of the organ systems.

Health, Illness, and Disease

Following EPOM, students delve into the "Health, Illness, and Disease" segment. This 10-unit organ-based section focuses on both the physiology and pathophysiology of each of the organ systems.

Clerkship Years

Students begin their clerkship year in January of Year II until December of Year III. These "immersion" clerkships can be taken in a relatively flexible order.

Longitudinal Educational Experience Advancing Patient Partnerships (LEAP)

A longitudinal patient experience (LEAP) provides an opportunity for students, under the guidance of faculty mentors, to follow patients with chronic illnesses over the length of their training. LEAP (Longitudinal Educational Experience Advancing Patient Partnerships) is an innovative program that allows students to participate in the healthcare experiences of assigned patients who reside in their community, from the beginning of their medical school experience and continuing throughout their four years of medical school.

Goals of LEAP

The goals of the LEAP program are:

To allow students to partner with patients early in their medical school career
To provide a clinical experience that will complement and enrich basic science learning
To help students understand the complexity of the healthcare system, and appreciate patients experiences within the system
To foster humanistic and culturally sensitive medical care
To explore the meaning of professionalism and collegiality
To experience the richness of the doctor-patient relationship over time

Program Structure

First-year students are generally assigned two patients initially (this number may increase over four years). Students are expected to engage with their patients at least once a month, ideally in the context of a medical office visit, hospitalization, home visit or phone call. Students meet monthly in small groups with two faculty members to discuss these experiences, review the clinical and psychosocial dimensions of patient care, and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system. As students transition to their third and fourth years, they maintain a role in the care of their patients, but also adopt a teaching and mentoring role for first- and second-year students entering the program.

Patient Assignments

Patients are assigned to each student before they begin the program. Every effort is made to select different types of patients to give the students a diversity of experience. Students will receive their patients' names and contact information during the first LEAP session. Students can express an interest in a certain type of patient (i.e. pediatric), but there is no guarantee that their request will be filled. There are a limited number of patients, and we cannot promise that students will be assigned a patient that fits their primary interests. At the LEAP student orientation, students will be given the names and contact information of their patients. They will also be introduced to second-year students working with the patient. Students are expected to reach out to their patients and set up a time to meet.

Student Responsibilities and Guidelines

Under no circumstances should a student provide any medical advice, other than to help a patient understand the instructions/advice given by their doctor. It is fine to say that you don't know the answer. The patient understands that you are a student and not expected to have all the answers. Students can see patients in pairs or alone if necessary. If one student cannot make an appointment, it is fine for the other to go alone. The only exception to this is home visits, which should always be done together. All students will have access to EPIC, our patient management system, which will allow them to see admissions and appointments.

Areas of Concentration (AOC)

The new curriculum allows students more time (6 to 9 months) to explore and become "semi-experts" in a specialized area of interest (Areas of Concentration). This should result in a work product that might be suitable for publication and presented at a local, regional or national meeting. The scholarly study is supervised by a faculty mentor and might include didactics or electives in the specialized area and/or related clinical experience. Specialized areas of study are broadly defined to include basic science, clinical investigation and translational science, and population-based fields (e.g., global health, health-care policy, epidemiology and prevention).

Fourth Year

During their fourth year, students also are involved in other electives and residency interviews, in addition to the required one-month sub-internship.

Global Health Curriculum

The Global Health Curriculum was first piloted in the 2009-2010 academic year and spans the four years of medical school. The curriculum includes course modules, a preceptorship program, mentorship, and opportunities for international elective experiences. Students may participate in as many parts of the curriculum as they like. This curriculum is now a highly regarded and a popular elective program for Weill Cornell medical students. Students who show meaningful engagement and commitment to the global health curriculum, activities, and international electives longitudinally throughout their training will have this distinction highlighted in their Dean's Letter.

Read also: Immersive Pre-College Experience

International Opportunities

MS1 Summer Mentored International Projects: Students can apply for 8-week mentored international projects with WCM and local/host institution faculty mentors. Projects can be: research, quality improvement, population health, or service-learning based.
Fourth Year International Electives: Senior medical students can apply for 6-8 week clinical international elective experiences at one of our partner sites.
Taking an Extra Year for Global Health Research: Students interested in an intensive global health research experience can apply for a year-long global health research program. This extra year could be funded by the Fulbright/Fogarty program, Doris Duke or various other programs.
Global Health AOC Scholarly Project: Students may choose to complete their required AOC scholarly project with a WCM Global Health faculty mentor. Some students have spent one of their AOC blocks (~8 weeks) working at an international site if required by their project and approved by the AOC faculty mentor and leadership.

Courses

Introduction to Global Health - Fall of MS1 A highly rated seminar series that introduces foundational concepts in global health through a diverse set of interactive case-based lectures with WCM faculty and visiting lecturers. Topics include: Decolonizing global health, measuring global burden of disease, global blindness, women’s health in low and middle income countries, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and more!
Global/Local Health Equity Preceptorship - Spring of MS1 An optional companion course that runs parallel to the required Clinical Preceptorship where students explore Global/Local Health Equity through weekly self-directed readings. Students who opt to participate will explore themes surrounding social determinants of health during their clinical sessions and participate in a faculty-guided reflection session at the end of the course.

On-Campus Engagement Opportunities

Global Health Grand Rounds A virtual lecture series in which renowned invited speakers from around the world present on diverse topics in global health.
Global Health Career Conversations An opportunity for students to get to know WCM Global Health Faculty members and hear about their unique career pathways.
Student/Faculty Journal Club The Global Health Journal Club is student and faculty led session designed to offer students an opportunity to discuss student-chosen global health topics, including neglected tropical diseases, global mental health, global climate change and health, global surgery, and Maternal and Child Health and more!
Global Health Collective The Global Health Collective is the WCMC student-run global health interest group.

Innovative Learning Formats

Faculty employ a wide array of progressive interactive learning formats. Traditional learning formats, such as in-class lectures, labs, PBL, seminars and small group exercises, continue to play an important role in student learning. With support from Education Information Technologies (ED IT) and instructional designers, faculty are implementing new methods of blended learning, such as creating short video podcasts, e-learning modules with student self-assessment and "world café" team-based learning (TBL) style approaches.

Additional Programs

Discover the Weill Cornell Medicine M.D.-Ph.D. Program, and our MBA partnership with the Cornell University Johnson School of Management. Our pipeline programs are designed to increase opportunities in medicine and research for undergraduate students. The Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Assistant Studies (MSHS PA) Program is an intensive course of study to educate students to become Physician Assistants.

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