The George Washington University MD curriculum prepares well-trained physicians to complete residencies in primary care or specialized areas of concentration. Through a biopsychosocial exploration of the patient, the curriculum constantly emphasizes that illness occurs in people who live in families, who are parts of groups, and who experience the world through cultural and traditional lenses. Our medical school also stresses education through cooperation and collaboration rather than competition and emphasizes working with groups of colleagues and co-workers. The course of study progresses as follows:

YEAR 1:
Concentration: Normal Human Structure and Function.
Courses include: Anatomy, Behavioral Medicine and Psychopathology, Biochemistry, Immunology, Microanatomy, Neurobiology, Physiology, and the Practice of Medicine (POM) course. POM parallels these courses.

The summer following the first year is unscheduled, allowing students to take advantage of the many local, national, and international volunteer, internship, research, or service opportunities available to them.

Humanities electives: Year 1

• Doctors as Authors
• First-Person Medicine
• Literature and Medicine
• Biomedical Ethics

Humanities electives: Year 2

• Film and Medicine
• Literature and Public Health
• Borderlands
• History of Medicine

YEAR 2:
Concentration: Abnormal Human Biology. Courses include: Core Pathology, Core Pharmacology, Integrated Microbiology/Infectious Diseases, and "Introduction to Clinical Medicine," an interdisciplinary, organ-system pathophysiology course. ICM consists of clinical lectures, laboratory sessions, and small group discussions that are coordinated to give an integrated picture of pathophysiology and the natural history of various diseases as they relate to the organ systems.

Students continue in POM.

YEAR 3:
The beginning of a two-year continuum of clinical clerkships and electives.

Includes eight-week clerkships in each of the six major clinical disciplines conducted at the GW Hospital and affiliated institutions, including Holy Cross Hospital,Veterans Administration Hospital, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, and Children’s National Medical Center.

Lectures, seminars, small-group discussions, readings, and clinical simulations supplement these experiences.

Students continue in POM.

YEAR 4:
Four-week "acting internship" in Medicine, Pediatrics, or Family Medicine. Required rotations in Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, and Neuroscience. The remaining 16 weeks are planned to suit individual educational requirements and interests.Electives are completed at the GW Medical Center, affiliated hospitals, or approved institutions in the U.S. and internationally.

POM IV: a one month "capstone" experience in March of Year 4 designed to prepare students for their residency specialty.

Studying abroad: SMHS offers formal electives for fourth-year medical students. Opportunities are available in various locations in Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Elective rotations last from four to eight weeks, during which students receive an immersion experience in the host country’s health care systems and personal attention from faculty.

Affiliated Programs and Clinical Teaching Sites:
Students rotate through a variety of local clinics and affiliated hospitals. The pediatric hospital affiliated with GW is the Children’s National Medical Center (www.dcchildrens.com), which has consistently been listed as one of America’s best pediatric institutions by U.S. News & World Report. Primary affiliated sites include:

• GW Hospital
• GW Medical Faculty Associates
• Children’s National Medical Center
• Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Walter Reed Army Medical Center
• National (Bethesda) Naval Medical Center
• Holy Cross Hospital
• Prince George’s Hospital Center
• Veterans Administration Hospital

More information about affiliated hospitals and programs can be found at www.gwumc.edu/smhs/academic/affiliated/index.html.