Gross anatomy of the gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Students will study the functional anatomy of each system using a variety of representations of anatomical structures in clinical context. Course Hours:(36 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
The student selects areas of medicine of particular interest for more in-depth exploration. Experience may occur in centres other than Calgary. All experiences must be evaluated by a preceptor. Course Hours:(35 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
The fundamental elements of history-taking and physical examinations, basic procedures (e.g., suturing), as well as other essential skills necessary for functioning as physicians, such as ethical principles, social health issues, teamwork, and physician health. Course Hours:(126 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
A one-on-one student/preceptor experience with rural and urban community clinics in southern Alberta where family physicians deliver generalist care, diagnose and manage most presenting complaints and see patients over time.
Course Hours:(24 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Concepts of health and disease as they apply to populations, communities and individual patients. The determinants of health and the distribution of disease within and between populations will be explored. The roles of health promotion, health protection and disease prevention will be presented. Students will learn about the evolution and function of the Canadian health-care system in the context of current and historic challenges and international alternatives. Basic epidemiology and biostatistics as they apply to the core concepts of the course will be covered. Community experience with individuals and social/medical community partners is a core part of this course. Course Hours:(62 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Critical appraisal of literature and application of evidence to practice. An introduction to evidence-based medicine concepts and applications. Options for electives include a research project, directed study project, or clinical experience where critical appraisal skills are used to address questions related to prognosis, diagnosis and/or treatment. Course Hours:(28 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Introduction to Medicine, Blood and Gastrointestinal Course
Integrated clinical presentations related to the blood and gastrointestinal systems. Students will learn how to diagnose, investigate and manage patients presenting with such clinical presentations as fever, anemia, bruising and bleeding, weight loss, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, jaundice, diarrhea, etc. General principles of medicine as a whole will be presented, including concepts of history and physical examination taking, as well as principles of investigations such as test sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value. This course will also introduce fundamental concepts of histology, pathology and radiology. An approach to problems in infectious diseases and information regarding self-protection equipment is provided. Course Hours:(207 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Integrated clinical presentations related to the musculoskeletal system and dermatology. Students will learn musculoskeletal anatomy as well the principles of diagnosis, investigation and management of clinical presentations such as painful limb, joint pain, fractures and dislocations, skin lesions, etc. Course Hours:(103 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Integrated clinical presentations related to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Students will learn how to diagnose, investigate and manage clinical presentations such as chest pain, loss of consciousness, palpitations, shock, heart murmur, shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, etc. Course Hours:(178 hours) Prerequisite(s):Admission to the Medical Doctor (MD) Program. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Gross anatomy of the urinary and reproductive systems, and introductory neuroanatomy. Students will study the functional anatomy of each system using a variety of representations of anatomical structures in clinical context. Course Hours:(27 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
The student selects areas of medicine of particular interest for more in-depth exploration. Experience may occur in centres other than Calgary. All experiences must be evaluated by a preceptor. Course Hours:(70 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Integrated Renal-Electrolyte and Endocrine-Metabolic Course
Integrated clinical presentations related to the renal and endocrine systems. Students will learn how to diagnose, investigate and manage clinical presentations such as acute and chronic renal failure, generalized edema, hypertension, abnormal electrolytes, neck mass, abnormalities of blood lipids, diabetes, etc. Course Hours:(184 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Extends and advances the basic knowledge and skills developed in Medicine 320 to help prepare students for clerkship and clinical practice. Course Hours:(82 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
A clinical learning experience and continuation of Medicine 330. Students participate in the delivery of patient care with urban or rural community clinics throughout southern Alberta.
Builds on the didactic teaching from Medicine 345 and provides an opportunity to explore an area of particular interest to each student. Options for electives include participation in research, a directed study project, or a clinical experience where critical appraisal skills are used to address questions related to prognosis, diagnosis and/or treatment. Course Hours:(30 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Integrated Neurosciences, Special Senses and Aging Course
Integrated clinical presentations related to the neuroscience system, special senses, pain, palliative care and aging. Students will learn how to diagnose, investigate and manage clinical presentations such as muscle weakness, head and spinal injuries, gait disturbance, dizziness, speech and language disturbance, seizures, acute confusion, headache, dementia, falls, acute and chronic pain, dying patient, visual loss, double vision, ear pain, hearing loss, etc. Course Hours:(187 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Integrated clinical presentations related to reproductive medicine and paediatrics. Students will learn how to diagnose, investigate and manage pregnancy, contraception, pelvic pain and associated diseases, infertility, and breast concerns. An overview of paediatric topics are presented, including the well and unwell newborn, the pre-term infant, common childhood infectious diseases, typical paediatric ambulatory problems, developmental disorders, paediatric emergency medicine, and an introduction to genetics. Course Hours:(155 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Students will learn how to diagnose, investigate and manage clinical presentations such as substance abuse and drug addiction, suicidal behaviour, panic and anxiety, psychosis, mood disorders, personality disorders, etc. Course Hours:(76 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Students work in small groups with a preceptor and standardized patients (actors) to further improve skills in communication, physical examination, diagnosis, collaboration and patient management. Basic science and clinical information across organ systems are integrated with an emphasis on clinical problem-solving ability. Course Hours:(11 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
A continuation from Medicine 480. Students continue to work in small groups with a preceptor and standardized patients (actors) to further enhance their skills in communication, physical examination, diagnosing, patient management, collaboration and professionalism. Basic science and clinical information across organ systems are integrated with an emphasis on clinical problem-solving ability. Course Hours:(11 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Prepare students for clinical rotations by practicing knowledge, skills, and attitudes relevant to all specialties. Students are immersed in practical, hands-on sessions, where unique teaching methodologies such as simulation, role-playing, and gamification enrich student engagement and learning retention. Topics include acute care approaches, teamwork skills, patient safety, communication skills, and interpretation of diagnostic results. Course Hours:(20 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
A continuation from Medicine 490. Prepares students for clinical rotations by learning and practicing knowledge, skills, and attitudes relevant to all specialties. Students are immersed in practical, hands-on sessions, where unique teaching methodologies such as simulation, role-playing, and gamification enhance student engagement and learning retention. Topics including acute care approaches, teamwork skills, patient safety, communication skills, and interpretation of diagnostic results. Course Hours:(13 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 300, 303, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, and 370. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
The third and final year is called the Clinical Clerkship. The total period of studies in the Clinical Clerkship constitutes 60 weeks. During this time, students work full time in clinical environments, including but not limited to hospital wards, ambulatory care clinics, doctors' offices, emergency departments and operating rooms. All students will spend a minimum of 4 weeks in rural/regional sites in Southern Alberta learning Family Medicine as well as some specialties. During the clerkship students rotate through a variety of specialties spending from 2-8 weeks in each. These specialties include: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesia, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Students also have 14 weeks of elective experience chosen from the courses listed below (Medicine 514). Students will spend a further two weeks in ‘Special Electives' in Interprofessional Education (IPE) placements and Community Engaged Learning (CEL) placements.
During the clerkship students will apply the knowledge learned in the first 2 years and use their clinical skills to approach clinical presentations. Students will evaluate patients and properly manage their medical problems (under supervision) by conducting a comprehensive medical history and thorough physical examination, formulating accurate hypotheses as to the causes and solution of their clinical problems, formulating and implementing a management plan to deal effectively with the problems. Students will demonstrate the fundamental concepts of disease prevention and health promotion for individual patients and incorporate them into treatments plans as appropriate. Students will communicate and interact effectively with patients, families, medical staff and others involved in the delivery of health services. During this time students will accept increasing responsibility in patient care as the final year advances. Students will be working with multi-disciplinary clinical teams of nurses, physiotherapists, residents and faculty. Students will develop and apply high ethical principles and standards in all aspects of medical practice and will exhibit appropriate personal and interpersonal professional behaviours. In the clerkship, as in the whole of the curriculum, it will be clear that physicians can serve patients to the highest possible standards only if they continually acquire new knowledge and skills for as long as they practice medicine.
Participation in Outreach Rotations: The clerkship program includes several community centres such as Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, and rural sites such as Brooks, Fort Macleod and Pincher Creek, etc. Students should expect to do a minimum of 4 weeks of their clinical clerkship outside the city of Calgary except in unusual circumstances.
Notes:
There are three weeks set aside in the third year for students to attend the National Resident Interview Period for their residency application within the process of the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS).
Up to 30 students per year may have the opportunity to achieve the objectives and evaluation requirements of the above stated disciplines in the University of Calgary Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (UCLIC) an experience consisting of:
32 weeks in a longitudinal rural preceptorship
12 weeks of urban medicine (4 weeks Internal Medicine, 4 weeks Paediatrics, 4 weeks Surgery)
14 weeks electives
2 weeks of IPE/CEL electives
Medicine500
Clinical Re-orientation
Clinical re-orientation allows students who are transferring from another program or who have had an extended time away from the Medical Doctor Program to transition back into the program. Participation in this course will be part of the students’ return to their study learning plan and will include communication, physical examination, review sessions and evaluations in clinical settings as required. Course Hours:(4 weeks) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 400, 402, 410, 420, 430, 445, 450, 460, 470, 480, 485, 490, and 495. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Two placements in urban or regional/rural community family medicine practice. Common clinical problems associated with family medicine are emphasized along with the diverse roles, as defined by CanMeds-FM, that a family physician may play in their particular community and for their patients. Two experiential learning projects are completed during the block that explore specific topics relevant to family medicine.
Develop diagnostic, problem-solving, and management skills by participating in a variety of clinical experiences and formal teaching rounds. Students will have the opportunity to be at the front-lines of patient care, and will often be the primary representative of the medical team to their patients. The clinical experiences will consist of one of the following options:
1. One four-week Medical Teaching Unit rotation, and two two-week rotations on an outpatient/consultative subspecialty.
2. One four-week Medical Teaching Unit rotation and one four-week ICU rotation.
Formal teaching sessions include weekly bedside teaching, formal teaching sessions during protected time, and rotation-specific rounds.
Students will be exposed to a wide-range of surgical problems and specialties. Students will rotate through one of the following:
1. One three-week General Surgery rotation and one three-week Orthopedic Surgery rotation;
2. One three-week General Surgery rotation and one two-week rotation in either Orthopedic Surgery, Plastic Surgery or Urological Surgery along with one one-week selective in either Urology, Vascular Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology or Trauma Surgery.
Experience in paediatric medicine, emphasizing clinical skills and problem-solving pertaining to common paediatric problems. Will build upon knowledge and skills (including history-taking and physical examination of newborns, infants, children, adolescents) previously gained in the first two years of the medical undergraduate curriculum, and will prepare the student for subsequent residency. The experiences shall be broad-based involving both ambulatory and hospital-based patients, and shall include newborn care, and care of children and adolescents up to the age of 18 years.
Develop understanding of the psychiatric patient, the skills to perform a psychiatric assessment and the management of psychiatric clinical presentations with integration of basic knowledge obtained from the non-clinical setting. Clerks will perform a variety of assessments including: child and adolescent behavioural and learning assessments, elderly cognitive function, competency assessments, safety assessments for suicide, abuse, and mental status examinations. They will order appropriate investigations including: collateral information, diagnostic imaging, laboratory and psychological and other functional assessments, etc. Four weeks of the rotation are spent in adult psychiatry and two weeks in child psychiatry.
A broad exposure to women's health and focus on the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology. Develop history taking and physical examinations skills appropriate to obstetrics and gynaecology patients and participate in deliveries, fetal assessment, maternal fetal medicine, colposcopy, low risk obstetrics, infertility and urogynaecology in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Clerks will spend time at either a community hospital in Calgary or Medicine Hat Regional hospitals, or at a tertiary care hospital.
During these mandatory 16 weeks of clerkship, clerks will choose electives from the range of potential medical domains. Sixteen weeks of mandatory elective time must be completed during the clerkship year with a minimum of two weeks on any one elective block.
Clerks will spend one week each in Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Community Engaged Learning (CEL) electives. In IPE, students will spend time with one or more allied health professionals to better understand the role that these individuals play in the multidisciplinary health care system. In CEL, students will be exposed to community partner organizations that serve disadvantaged groups in society. Students will be exposed to concepts in didactic sessions related to health care inequality and social disadvantage; students will then complete time working with a partner organization to see how these factors affect community members.
During extended clerkship student are required to complete mandatory weeks of clerkship electives based on the decision by the Student Academic Review Committee (SARC). Clerks will choose electives from the range of potential medical disciplines. Mandatory elective time must be completed during the extended clerkship year with a minimum of two weeks on any one elective block.
Students work daily with a preceptor in the hospital setting. Four areas of anaesthesia will be covered: procedural skills, resuscitation, pharmacology as well as an overview of anaesthesia topics including: preoperative assessment, pain management and others. Clerks will practice intravenous cannulation, bag and mask ventilation, jaw thrust, laryngeal mask and airway insertion and airway and endotracheal intubation in a controlled setting.
Comprehensive Clinical Skills Curriculum for Clerkship
Integrate basic and clinical science, improve diagnostic reasoning, communication and clinical skills, and apply knowledge gained during the foundational courses in medicine to the clinical setting. Content covered using a variety of formats, including high-fidelity simulation, standardized patients, small group cases, didactic lectures, and procedural workshops. Content is delivered over a 48-week period spanning the duration of the clerkship year. Course Hours:(60 hours) Prerequisite(s):Medicine 400, 402, 410, 420, 430, 445, 450, 460, 470, 480, 485, 490, and 495. NOT INCLUDED IN GPA
Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges offered by emergency medicine, including the assessment and management of life-threatening illness. Access to all elements of health-care delivery, including discharge planning, outpatient care and referrals, direct interaction with consultants, ambulatory care and inpatient facilities, as well as diagnostic imaging. A minimum of seven shifts in an urban emergency room are scheduled at two teaching sites.
COURSES OF INSTRUCTION