University of Nebraska College of Medicine

Academics

4-year semimodern.The school seeks to provide its graduates with superior skills in problem solving and clinical reasoning, extensive knowledge of the biomedical and psychosocial sciences, and skills needed for lifelong learning of medicine. First and second years: Students are exposed to the basic medical sciences. During these years students also begin to learn clinical skills and reasoning. In the third and fourth years students apply their knowledge on the hospital wards and clinical offices. Third year: Students take clinical clerkships in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery. Fourth year: Students select from a variety of clinical and basic scienceexperience.Inordertograduate,studentsmustshow that they have acquired the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for residency training. Students get early experience in medical problem solving through preceptorships and clinical case study in groups. At the beginning of medical school, students work in small groupswithafacultymembertosolveclinicalcases.This initial exercise helps develop the library and information retrieval skills they will need in their medical studies. Case study and small group teaching emphasizing problem-based learning are becoming more prominent features of all of the basic science courses. Clinical experience provided to the students is supplemented by the availability of simulated patients to learn history taking and physical examination skills. These innovative changes in medical education provide greater relevance to patient care in medical practice. Consequently, graduates should be more qualified to undertake advanced training regardless of the specialty they plan to enter.