Curriculum
Active, small-group learning will be an integral part of the student experience at the GRU/UGA Medical Partnership
The Georgia Regents University and the University of Georgia have partnered to create a four-year medical education program in Athens to help alleviate a statewide shortage of physicians that threatens the health of Georgians. With a class size of 40, the Medical Partnership students work with onsite basic and clinical science educators, providing students with easy access to faculty. Working in small groups of four to eight students for the majority of class time fosters teamwork and, more importantly, friendship.
First- and second-year students study basic and clinical science in a hybrid curriculum that makes extensive use of small group learning, supplemented by large group interactive sessions. Previous department-based courses such as biochemistry, physiology, and microbiology are integrated and presented in the context of clinical problems to encourage a more logical sequence of learning and to highlight the clinical relevance of the basic sciences. This helps students learn in a context that more directly applies to how they will care for patients.
The emphasis on an integrated approach to teaching and lifelong learning begins in the first year to help students learn the structure and function of the human body as well as understand social and behavioral aspects of medicine. It continues in the second year, which emphasizes pathophysiology and clinical decision making. Basic science is also revisited through the clinical skills course.
Required and elective third- and fourth-year clerkships are available in private practices, community clinics, and hospitals. These two years involve the application of the knowledge acquired in the basic sciences and essentials of clinical medicine in a clinical setting. The third year consists of clinical rotations in the core disciplines of medicine. The fourth year lasts 11 months and consists of electives and selectives.
For more information, please contact Dr. Scott Richardson, campus associate dean for curriculum, at 706-713-2180 or wscottr@uga.edu. You can also visit the GRU School of Medicine Curriculum Web site.
