Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
BU School of Medicine (BUSM) Required Courses
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MED MS 121: Doctoring 1
Doctoring 1 is a year-long course in the first year where students learn foundational doctoring skills. The course is structured in case-based small groups that allow for clinical interviews with a faculty member or a standardized patient so that students can learn and practice communication skills and data gathering, doctor-patient relationship building, physical examinations, clinical reasoning, case presentation and documentation skills. Further, these cases will promote integration of foundational and social science topics students are learning in their other courses and provide an opportunity for self-directed learning. At the end of each session, students will identify learning needs related to the case, and each will select a topic to research. The following week, students will teach their classmates about the topic they researched to further the group's understanding of the case. Students will have clinical placements in the hospital during the fall, with a longitudinal preceptor in the spring. During their clinical placements, students will apply and practice the content they have learned in their small groups through interviewing patients and performing physical exams. Students will learn team-building skills and will reflect on topics surrounding professionalism, ethics, and professional identify formation. This course is a merger of the previously offered Integrated Problems 1 and Introduction to Clinical Medicine 1 courses and is designed to deliberately integrate clinical reasoning and clinical skills. -
MED MS 126: Human Behavior in Medicine
This course is designed to provide knowledge of human behavior important to the treatment of patients and their families. While scientific knowledge of disease and its treatment are necessary for medical care, understanding the broader context of the patient as a person who suffers is integral to being an effective physician. Physicians who have an understanding of the aging and dying process can then help patients and their families deal with medical realities. Medical staff who have an awareness of the dynamics of addictions and domestic violence can hone their intuition as to what might assist the individual and the individual's spouse, children and elderly dependents. In addition, understanding the patient's sexuality gives a more complete medical understanding of the individual. Physicians and medical students should be aware of their own values, views and biases in the delivery of medical care. Practicing medicine in a professional and ethical manner, and collaborating effectively with patients and colleagues, is a lifelong endeavor and an ongoing challenge. These skills are enshrined in professional codes of conduct, and now routinely assessed by licensing boards and educational institutions. -
MED MS 129: Essentials of Public Health
Essentials of Public Health is designed to provide the student with a broad introduction to the field of public health as it relates to medicine and the health of patients, families, and communities both locally and globally. The course will teach the social, ethical, political and economic context of health care and students will learn the basics of epidemiology and biostatistics so that they can critically read and interpret the medical literature. The goal of this course is to produce well-rounded students prepared to practice medicine with a robust knowledge of the population-level factors influencing clinical practice. Topics covered will include the design, conduct and critical appraisal of research trials; quality improvement and practice transformation; health disparities and social determinants of health; legal and ethical issues relevant to the clinical practice of medicine; health policy and the structure and organization of the US health care systems. -
MED MS 141: PrISM 1 Molecular Foundations of Medicine, Cellular Foundations of Medicine
Principles Integrating Science and Medicine (PrISM) is a year-long course that integrates the foundational sciences of medicine within the context of a structural hierarchy that begins with molecules and progresses to human body systems. The integration of material reveals relationships among the concepts of different basic science disciplines--Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Histology, Physiology, Gross Anatomy, Genetics, and Immunology--and promotes an understanding of the structure and function of the human body as an integrated whole. Students attend interactive sessions that typically follow independent and self-paced learning that emphasize critical thinking skills. PrISM comprises five sequential Blocks; each Block bears a unique MS course number for which the student earns a course grade that appears on their BUSM transcript. Each Block has two or three Modules, for a total of 13 topic-based PrISM modules that progress sequentially. -
MED MS 142: PrISM 2 Body Structures 1, 2, 3
See MED MS 141 -
MED MS 144: PrISM 3 Neurosciences, Immunology, Genomic Medicine
See MED MS 141 -
MED MS 145: PrISM 4 Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Renal systems
See MED MS 141 -
MED MS 146: PrISM 5 Gastrointestinal System & Nutrition, Endocrine & Reproductive Systems
See MED MS 141 -
MED MS 220: Disease and Therapy(DRx)1
The Disease and Therapy (DRx) course integrates the study of disease, including pathophysiology, infectious etiologies, and pharmacologic management in an organ-based context. DRx begins with an introduction to the fundamental concepts of microbiology, pathology and pharmacology in the Foundations Module and is followed by the Infectious Diseases Module in which students learn the microbiological basis of infectious diseases and pharmacologic treatment. Subsequent modules address diseases and disorders by organ system: Pulmonary, Cardiovascular, Rheumatology, Renal, Gastrointestinal, Dermatology, Reproduction, Endocrinology/Nutrition, Neurology, Psychiatry, Oncology, and Hematology. -
MED MS 221: Disease and Therapy (DRx) 2
See MED MS 220 -
MED MS 223: Disease and Therapy (DRx) 3
See MED MS 220 -
MED MS 224: Disease and Therapy (DRx) 4
See MED MS 220 -
MED MS 225: Disease and Therapy (DRx) 5
See MED MS 220 -
MED MS 226: Disease and Therapy (DRx) 6
See MED MS 220 -
MED MS 227: Doctoring 2
Doctoring 2 is a year-long course in the second year in which students build off their experience in Doctoring 1. The course is structured in case-based small groups that allow for clinical interviews with a faculty member or a standardized patient so students can learn and practice advanced communication skills and hypothesis-driven data gathering and physical examinations, including advanced clinical exam maneuvers. There will be a strong emphasis on clinical reasoning and both identifying and mitigating cognitive biases. Students will refine and expand their case presentation and note-writing skills and will learn to use the electronic medical record. Cases will promote integration of foundational and social science topics and provide an opportunity for self-directed learning. At the end of each session, students will identify learning needs related to the case and each will take a topic to research. The following week, students will teach their classmate about the topic they researched to further the group's understanding of the case. Students will have a variety of additional simulation sessions and standardized patient interviews to further their skills. They will continue their clinical placements with a longitudinal preceptor in the fall and will return to the hospital during the winter/spring to further advance their clinical skills in preparation for their clinical clerkships. Students will further their teamwork skills and competence in building a therapeutic alliance with patients and will reflect on topics surrounding professionalism, ethics, and professional identify formation. This course is a merger of the previously offered Integrated Problems 2 and Introduction to Clinical Medicine 2 courses and is designed to deliberately integrate clinical reasoning and clinical skills.
