Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Required Courses

• MED MD 441: Sub-Internship: Medical Intensive Care Unit
  The Sub-Internship in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) is designed to provide highly motivated students with an introduction to the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients with single and multi-system organ failure. The MICU is designed to provide state of the art care to seriously or critically ill patients in an environment that emphasizes learning, teaching and independence. Students are exposed to a large spectrum of clinical problems including, but not limited to, respiratory failure with or without mechanical ventilation, ARDS, shock, sepsis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, diseases related to alcohol or drug excess, HIV-related conditions, pulmonary edema, pulmonary emboli, renal, hepatic or cardiac failure, DKA, fluid, electrolyte or thermic disturbances, CVA or complications of malignancies. Care is provided in a team format which besides physicians, nurse practitioners and senior medical students, includes nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, nutritionists, physical therapists and social workers. This multi-disciplinary approach provides excellent care to patients by capitalizing on the expertise of many services. Students are expected to participate on daily ventilator and work rounds, and to contribute to the management of patients by collecting and assimilating data for presentation to the attending, arranging consults and tests, and by placing orders and performing common procedures under direct supervision. Patients are cared for by three teams. Two teams (Red and Blue) consist of 2 PGY2 or PGY3 residents, 2 PGY1 residents, a pulmonary/critical care attending and a pulmonary/critical care fellow. The third team (Green) consists of 2 PGY2 or PGY3 residents, 2 PGY1 residents, a nurse practitioner and pulmonary/critical care attending. The PGY2 or PGY3 admits and performs the initial management on all patients in the MICU with the supervision of the MICU Attending/Fellow during the day or the Special Care Unit Night Coverage (SCUNC) at night. Subsequent daily care is then assumed by a PGY1 resident, Nurse Practitioner or a Medical Student on a sub-internship rotation. Students are assigned to the Red and Blue MICU teams preferentially but if necessary can be assigned to the Green Team. Students are required to be present for 6 days of the week (weekdays and either Saturday or Sunday). There is no night call.
• MED MD 442: Adolescent Medicine
  The Adolescent Medicine elective will take place at Boston Medical Center’s outpatient Adolescent Center, as well as at a handful of community sites. It will be an opportunity for one 4th year medical student per rotation to gain experience caring for adolescents in the outpatient setting. Students will interview and examine adolescent patients with attending physician supervision, and come up with plans for diagnostic evaluation and treatment. Students are expected to work at least 40 hours per week and have various opportunities to interact with attending physicians, mid-level providers, nurses, social workers, and other community providers. This elective will give medical student valuable exposure to common psychosocial and medical health concerns in adolescents such as sexual and reproductive health, disordered eating, reproductive endocrinology, depression and anxiety, substance use, as well as pubertal growth and development. Students will also attend teaching conferences in the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center when this does not conflict with clinical experiences. This may include, but is not limited to: Noon Conference, Case of the Week, and Grand Rounds – in addition to adolescent specific education sessions as part of the BCRP Keystone block. Students will receive timely feedback from providers as well as formative feed back at the mid-clerkship evaluation to assess their progress in developing the below skills. At the end of the elective, the student will be expected to complete an evidence-based presentation as outlined below, and will have gained the following skills: • To conduct an age and developmentally appropriate interview • To council adolescents regarding common psychosocial concerns, including but not limited to reproductive health, substance use and mental health • To come up with appropriate treatment plans for common adolescent concerns.
• MED MD 443: Ambulatory Medicine
  Advanced Internal Medicine, Medicine II Block: All Students will complete a required four week Ambulatory Medicine rotation in the fourth year. For the 4 week ambulatory medicine rotation, students will be assigned to one of the following sites:  Jamaica Plain/West Roxbury VA, Bedford VA, Roger Williams Medical Center, Neighborhood Health Centers, Private Practices or BMC.  BUSM is exploring additional possible clinical venues for training in Ambulatory Internal Medicine and may add new venues in the coming year.
• MED MD 444: Internal Medicine Internship Prep Course
  This elective will prepare students who are planning to enter an Internal Medicine Residency.  It is designed to build specific skills and knowledge to facilitate the transition from medical student to intern.  Students will participate in small group activities and didactic learning.  These will take place in the Boston Medical Center Simulation Center (for procedural/simulation sessions) and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (for classroom learning sessions).  BUSM IV students will be oriented to the elective on the first day of the rotation during a formal orientation session with the course directors. The sessions will include a mixture of case-based, small-group classroom learning, as well as hands-on simulation and procedural sessions led by content-expert faculty members and procedurists. There will be no direct patient contact. By the end of the two week Internal Medicine Internship Prep Course students will be able to: 1. Identify, evaluate, and manage acute medical situations including hypoxia, altered mental status, hypertensive emergency, shock, and chest pain as observed by faculty in simulated medical scenarios. 2. Interpret common diagnostic tests, such as EKGs and chest X-rays, during simulated medical scenarios. 3. Describe and demonstrate the steps for performing common medical procedures, including central line placement, intravenous line placement, and arterial puncture as observed by faculty in simulated procedures. 4. Discuss how to effectively and respectfully communicate with patients from different cultural backgrounds about end of life issues, decision making capacity, and bad news during small group discussions. 5. Demonstrate techniques to communicate effectively and respectfully with a medical team from different cultural backgrounds when presenting a new patient, responding to pages, calling consults, handing off or discharging patients as observed during small group discussions and during simulated pages. 6. Discuss strategies to balance responsibilities and wellness as interns through effective learning, time management, and organization during small group discussions.
• MED MD 445: Addiction Medicine
  The Addiction Medicine elective will take place at Boston Medical Center’s inpatient wards, as well as various community sites, including but not limited to: HCRC Methadone Clinic, FASTER-PATHS discharge clinic, and AHOPE Needle Exchange. This is an opportunity for a 4th year medical student to understand addiction as a chronic medical condition, and SUD as an important and prevalent public health issue. Students will engage in care of persons with SUD in a professional, health-oriented, responsible and proactive manner, in order to reduce substance-related harm, promote health and address co-existing medical problems. Students will interview and examine patients with attending physician supervision and be involved in the patients treatment planning. Students will also rotate through Hope House where they will be exposed to a community residential and outpatient treatment settings. Students are expected to participate, Monday through Friday, at least 40 hours/week. Students will attend teaching conferences that are scheduled during the elective time. Students will receive timely, formative feedback from the attending preceptors including a mid-clerkship evaluation to assess their progress in developing the skills needed to treat patients with SUD.
• MED MD 446: Vascular Medicine
  This is designed to be a comprehensive rotation in cardiovascular disorders with emphasis on vascular problems. Students will gain an exposure to the evaluation and management of vascular disorders affecting the arterial, venous, and lymphatic systems, as well as vasospastic disorders. Emphasis will be placed on learning the presentation, physical findings, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The indications, techniques, and interpretation of vascular studies will be taught. Students will be expected to fully participate in the clinical and educational activities including: • Inpatient vascular medical consultations including cardiac consultation for vascular surgery • Outpatient clinic, which includes new consultation and longitudinal care of patients with vascular disease • Non-invasive vascular laboratory and peripheral interventional laboratory • Vascular conferences including an interdisciplinary vascular conference and a vascular laboratory journal club As mentioned above, there is heavy emphasis placed on a comprehensive cardiovascular approach to the vascular disease patient. Student can expect to be exposed to and provide care for many cardiac disorders, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and arrhythmias, especially during the perioperative evaluation and management. This will include an understanding and application of the diagnostic cardiac studies, including electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, exercise and pharmacologic stress test, and cardiac catheterization.
• MED MD 447: Obesity Medicine and Nutrition Support
  This elective provides “hands on” exposure to the problems of obesity and malnutrition in both inpatients and outpatients. The Obesity Medicine and Nutrition Support rotation at Boston Medical Center is a 4 week rotation. The students will gain experience managing individuals with morbid obesity by working in the Nutrition and Weight Management Clinic with nutrition physicians and dietitians. The students will get an overview of the medical management and surgical treatment options available for the morbidly obese patient. This includes an introduction to the comprehensive pre and post-operative management of these patients via clinic experience and inpatient follow-up where applicable. The option is available, based on student interest, to observe Culinary Nutrition Medicine classes in BMC’s Nutrition Resource Kitchen with a professional chef/dietitian. The student will work closely with members of the multidisciplinary Nutrition Support Team. This includes an attending physician, clinical fellows, dietitians, pharmacists and research staff. Participation in daily patient and teaching rounds will be expected. Consultations will be undertaken with the supervision of a fellow or the Nutrition Support attending on service.
• MED MD 448: Gender Care Rotation
  This elective is for the BUSM student to learn the multi-disciplinary approach to appropriate care for transgender and gender nonbinary individuals. The transgender medicine elective will provide an introduction to the full spectrum of care for transgender and nonbinary individuals including establishing initial care, continuing primary care as well gender affirming hormone and surgical options. Students will interact with patients who are exploring gender identity, who identify as transgender and nonbinary, and who are pursuing hormonal or surgical gender affirmation. They will learn the endocrinological mechanisms of puberty as these parallel the hormonal and pharmacological interventions used in transgender medicines. Students will participate in clinical sessions and are expected to treat patients with respect and sensitivity. Students attend various clinical sessions during their elective including: endocrinology, primary care, adolescent medicine, and surgery clinics. Self-study of social work, pediatrics, psychiatry, ob/gyn and surgery aspects of transgender medicine is required. Students will be graded on interactions with patients in clinical session, knowledge of the subject from outside reading and a final 15 minute presentation in the 4th week of the rotation.
• MED MD 449: Pulmonary Medicine-Consultation Service
  The student will be an integral part of an active in patient clinical pulmonary consultation service. They will be responsible for the initial consultation in patients with a variety of respiratory disorders. The student’s evaluation and plan of management will then be discussed with the pulmonary fellow and at daily staff attending rounds. The elective will provide an opportunity to evaluate chest roentgenograms, interpret arterial blood gases and pulmonary function tests, and discuss the role of and participate in such diagnostic procedures as fiberoptic bronchoscopy, pleural biopsy and thoracentesis. The student will participate in a full program of teaching conferences including work rounds, chest x-ray conferences, formal interhospital chest conferences, physiology seminars and research conferences, and a special weekly student case discussion conference.
• MED MD 455: Inpatient Clinical Neurology: General
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the field of general inpatient neurology. Students will learn how to approach the diagnosis and management of patients with non-stroke neurological disorders. In addition, students will learn to work in multi-disciplinary teams to participate in the care of complex patients.
• MED MD 456: Inpatient Clinical Neurology: Stroke
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the field of inpatient Stroke Neurology. Students will learn how to approach the diagnosis and management of patients with different forms of strokes and stroke risk factors. In addition, students will learn to work in multi-disciplinary teams to participate in the care of complex patients.
• MED MD 457: Outpatient Clinical Neurology: Movement Disorders
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the neurological subspecialty of Movement Disorders. During this 2-week elective, students will participate in different clinical activities with Movement Disorder sub-specialists. During this elective, students will learn to evaluate, diagnose, and manage patients with different movement disorders such as ataxia, Parkinson’s Disease, and gait disorders.
• MED MD 458: Outpatient Clinical Neurology: Pain
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the neurological subspecialty of Pain Neurology. During this 2-week elective, students will participate in different clinical activities with Pain sub-specialists. During this elective, students will learn to evaluate, diagnose, and manage patients with different Pain related disorders such as headache, back pain, neck pain and other pain-related conditions.
• MED MD 459: Outpatient Clinical Neurology: Sleep Medicine and Cognitive Disorders
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the neurological subspecialty of Sleep medicine. During this 4-week elective, students will participate in different clinical activities with Sleep sub-specialists. During this elective, students will learn to evaluate, diagnose, and manage patients with different Sleep-related disorders.
• MED MD 460: Outpatient Clinical Neurology: Epilepsy
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the neurological subspecialty of Epilepsy. During this 2-week elective, students will participate in different clinical activities with Epilepsy sub-specialists. During this elective, students will learn to evaluate, diagnose, and manage patients with different Epilepsy disorders such as generalized seizures, focal seizures, as well as managing AEDs.
• MED MD 461: Neurosurgery
  Fourth year students electing Neurosurgery will have an opportunity to make daily ward rounds with an attending neurosurgeon, perform clinical examinations, discuss differential diagnosis and diagnostic procedures. Under direct supervision, the student may participate in patient management and follow up. The student will also have the opportunity to review and learn about the interpretation of different diagnostic tests, such as angiograms, CT and MRI of the central nervous system. The student will be able to attend and participate in weekly neurosurgical teaching conferences. Ongoing research projects within the department are available to stimulate the student’s academic interest. In the operating room, the student will be instructed about the duties of a surgical assistant and will be exposed to the surgical anatomy of the brain and spine. The student will also be encouraged to evaluate the patients post-operatively, especially in the setting of the intensive care unit.
• MED MD 462: Neurology Research (Non-Clinical Elective)
  The student will join a supervising Neurology faculty mentor for a research project that is organized prior to the start of the elective and approved by the elective subcommittee of the medical school. The student will work as a member of the team with the principal investigator and/or other junior investigators. The student will spend his/her time performing some or all of study research, study development, IRB submission, study planning and data collection, data analysis, and study write up. A thorough written summary of the student’s progress and/or accomplishments will also be performed. The student will also attend various conferences focused on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with general neurologic disease. Emphasis is placed on developing skill in performance of research techniques, with particular focus on development of research ideas, IRB creation and submission, data collection and analysis, and manuscript creation. Students are expected to participate in all service activities Monday through Friday. Weekend responsibilities or evening call is not required.
• MED MD 463: Neurocritical Care
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the field of neurocritical care. Students will learn how to approach the diagnosis, work-up, initial emergent management and long-term care of critically ill patients with neurological illness.
• MED MD 464: Mixed Neurology
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the field of outpatient neurology based on the students’ areas of interest. During this 4-week elective, students may choose to take 2 different 2-week outpatient rotations through different neurology sub-specialties to learn and further explore their interests. Sub-specialty options include movement disorders, pain, sleep/cognitive, epilepsy, or neuromuscular.
• MED MD 465: Outpatient Clinical Neurology: Neuromuscular
  This elective is for the BUSM student to provide students with a broad exposure to the neurological subspecialty of neuromuscular medicine. During this 2-week elective, students will participate in different clinical activities with neuromuscular sub-specialists. During this elective, students will learn to evaluate, diagnose, and manage patients with different neuromuscular disorders.