Doctoring is a required 17-month, four-course program that combines instruction and assessment in both clinical skills and professional development.
The Doctoring curriculum is comprised of classroom learning and early exposure to real patients and medical practice. Students attend small group sessions taught by medical (MD) and social and behavioral science (SBS) faculty. Together with standardized patients in a simulated exam room setting, faculty teach students basic clinical skills, including medical interviewing, history taking, and physical diagnosis, while emphasizing professional conduct.
Skills learned in the classroom are reinforced by clinical experiences in which students work alongside physician-mentors at a community-based practice for 14 half-days per year, observing doctor-patient interactions and applying the skills they will need as physicians. In addition, students are assigned an assisted living facility (ALF) resident in the community with whom they practice clinical skills.