Preclerkship Curriculum

EXPLORE allows you to be architect of your own education and pursue experiences based on your interest and learning goals.

In the fall of your first year, you will complete EXPLORE Essentials. This focuses on skill building (taking patient histories and oral presentation of medical history), fostering mentorship and career exploration.

Once EXPLORE Essentials is complete, you will be matched with a faculty preceptor and spend 20 hours with them over the course of the semester. Your EXPLORE RUSH experiences can happen in a variety of settings both on and off campus.

In addition, you may select a new experience each term for a total of five different experiences over the first two years. Or you can continue with a single experience for two or more semesters.

Contact

Susan Glick, MD
Director of Early Clinical Experiences
Susan_B_Glick@rush.edu

Our curriculum allows you to supplement your education with an elective course during the first year.

Sessions are offered during the fall and spring terms. You can preview the course before committing.

Students participating in the Family Medicine Leadership Program or the Health Equity and Social Justice Leadership Program cannot enroll in first-year electives.

Basic Biomedical Research

You are introduced to the theory and practice of biomedical research. During a mentored research experience, you develop a research proposal, complete the project and prepare a final research report.

Basic Spanish for Medical Professionals

This elective addresses the needs of medical students with little or no experience in Spanish. You develop communicative proficiency and accuracy in the use of the Spanish language in medical settings.

You participate in language tasks through listening, reading, writing and conversation. Additionally, you learn about pertinent information about Hispanic/Latinx cultures.

Classes are taught in Spanish to immerse you in the language.

Intermediate Spanish for Medical Professionals

First-year students increase their comfort level with Spanish-language interviews, examination and patient education. The course is focused on developing medical Spanish language communication skills for students with pre-existing Spanish conversational skills.

You will also incorporate the sociocultural context of Hispanic/Latinx patients. You participate in language tasks through listening, reading, writing and conversation.

Classes are taught in Spanish to immerse you in the language.

Humanities in Medicine

You examine how the human experience — particularly empathy, observation and interpretation — is influenced by literature and the arts. You examine the ways observation and engagement with the arts parallel observation and engagement in patient care.

In addition, you discuss the role of perspective in describing medical events, differences and similarities in observational skills in the arts and medicine. You will also use movement and drama exercises to examine one’s lived experiences.

Course activities include museum visits, movement activities, acting exercises, and reading and writing about selected works of literature.

The preclerkship course material is taught using a flipped classroom approach. In the flipped classroom setting, you will prepare for class by reading course notes and watching prepared videos.

During class, you will work in teams to apply this knowledge to problems within patient cases, guided by basic science and clinician faculty. Flipped classrooms focus on a hands-on approach to learning during scheduled class time and eliminate the traditional lecture format.

Course material is supplemented by clinical experiences, workshops, labs and simulations.

The best way to learn is by doing. But in medicine, a novice cannot simply jump into a complex case with a real patient.

The RUSH Center for Clinical Skills and Simulation (Sim Center) bridges that gap by providing state-of-the art simulators. Simulation rooms have real-world tools, including the following:

• Clinical communications systems found in a hospital
• Medication dispensing stations
• Patient mannequins that breathe and bleed
• Ultrasound equipment

Sim Center experiences teach you how to integrate the following clinical skills:

• Communication
• History taking
• Patient encounter documentation through interactions with trained standardized patients (i.e., actors)
• Physical exam maneuvers

Bedside Clinical Skills allows you to practice bedside clinical skills on real hospitalized patients before your clerkships begin. It teaches you the standard structure for presenting patient information in both oral and written format.

You will perform the following:

• Develop differential diagnoses, assessments and plans
• Conduct histories and physical exams
• Give oral presentations
• Write up your notes with feedback

You learn how to interact with patients in a sensitive and respectful manner. In addition, you gain experience discussing actual patient cases and receiving feedback from clinical faculty.

Before beginning required third-year clerkships, you must take and pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination, or USMLE, Step 1 exam. To help you prepare, you have required practice exams in the middle and at the end of your send year.

* “RMC On Track” excludes a small set of students who deviated from the typical RMC curriculum for their cohort (e.g., repeated an academic year)

NA = Scores are not yet available

There are several research opportunities designed just for RUSH Medical College students.

M1 Elective

The Basic Biomedical Research first-year elective introduces you to the theory and practice of biomedical research. A mentored research experience allows you to develop a research proposal, complete the proposed project and prepare a final research report.

Summer Research Fellowship

The Summer Research Fellowship is a paid summer research opportunity offered on a competitive basis between the first and second preclerkship years.

To apply, you must identify a faculty mentor and prepare a written application modeled after a National Institutes of Health training grant.

We funded 100% of applicants last year. Accepted students are provided with a summer stipend to conduct their research.