Pre-Clerkship Electives
Pre-clerkship electives offers students the opportunity to explore interests in medicine beyond the traditional curriculum.
Breadcrumb
Pre-Clerkship Electives
Pre-clerkship electives offers students the opportunity to explore interests in medicine beyond the traditional curriculum.
Pre-Clerkship Elective Application
There are a variety of electives open to first- and second-year medical students. Many are designed, implemented and led by students along with a faculty advisor, and several are taught by Warren Alpert Medical School faculty. Students are provided with a certificate of completion if they meet requirements of the elective.
Application Process
All faculty or students who plan to offer a Years 1 and 2 elective must complete an application and receive approval by the Medical Curriculum Committee (MCC). The Subcommittee on Years 1 and 2 reviews applications and makes a recommendation to the MCC for final approval of the elective. Student-led electives must have at least one faculty advisor.
All electives must be approved or recertified each academic year by the MCC. This policy enables the committee to track what electives are offered, assess their quality and disseminate the information to students.
MDCC Review Schedule. All Years 1 and 2 electives are evaluated annually.
- At the April or May meeting, the MCC will review Years 1 and 2 electives that will be offered in the fall semester or given over the course of both fall and spring semesters.
- At the September or October meeting, the MCC will review Years 1 and 2 electives that will be offered in the spring semester.
Students planning to submit a Years 1 and 2 elective application should contact Dr. Sarita Warrier at least 10 days prior to submission of the completed application.
Fall 2026 PCE Catalog
Student Leader(s): Chris Nguyen, Jad Hamze
Faculty Advisor(s): Dale Ritter
Course Description & Expectations: This course serves as an opportunity for students to hone their fine motor dissection skills and study specific anatomical structures in-depth. This course is designed to augment Human Anatomy I and II. Over the course of the class, we will examine some of the most intricate structures of the human body: the hand, ear, spine, and solid organs. There will be four lab sections, each lasting three hours. Students will have the opportunity to examine important anatomy in greater detail than in their first year, present their findings, and even lead their own dissections!
Number of Required Hours: 16 (4 x 3-hour in-person dissections, 2 hours of independent study to prepare for each dissection, 2 hours for final presentation preparation and observing others)
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 10
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Marilyn Rodriguez, Chris Sanchez, Lena Noya, Maria Andrade, Zachary Sweeney
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Nidia Schumacher
Course Description & Expectations: The Advanced Spanish Elective is a course intended to give students the opportunity to practice their clinical language skills. Through lecture and group activities, students will rigorously learn and practice using medical terms in Spanish. The course covers a wide range of topics including but not limited to taking a history, interpreting skills, pediatrics, mental health, diabetes, cardiology, pulmonology, women’s health, public health, immigration, and insurance. The course will consist of 8 class sessions, 1 OSCE, and several charlas (discussion sections). Ultimately, this course will prepare students to communicate effectively with Spanish-speaking patients while practicing cultural humility and sensitivity.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Mikhaila Doyle, Akshay Amesur, Julian Joseph, and Duaka Nwike
Faculty Advisor(s): Dale Ritter
Course Description & Expectations: This course offers students the opportunity to strengthen their anatomical understanding through clinical correlations with surgical procedures. The course combines hands-on anatomy lab sessions with guided preparatory work. In-person sessions are led by surgeons from a range of subspecialties, including general surgery, trauma surgery, neurosurgery, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, and orthopedic surgery. Faculty will teach students common operative procedures while offering instruction on key surgical concepts from their respective fields. Each body donor will be assigned to a small group of students, including a designated student leader. Prior to each session, students will complete approximately 1–2 hours of preparation consisting of anatomy review (iBook), readings on relevant procedures, instructional videos, and imaging interpretation using CT scans, X-rays, and MRIs. The course will conclude with each student delivering a 5–7 minute presentation on a surgical procedure or a clinically relevant procedure-related question of interest.
Number of Required Hours: 23.5 total (1 hour introduction, 6 x 1.5 hours of self-learning preparation, 6 x 2 hrs of in-person dissection/surgical instruction sessions, 1.5 hr final presentations)
Student Enrollment: Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 8
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Marlie Kahan, Jacob Lally, Camryn Kimura, Sophie Holtzman
Faculty Advisor(s): Elizabeth Lowenhaupt, MD; Timothy Owens, LMHC
Course Description & Expectations: This preclinical elective is open to all medical, Gateways, and PLME students who are interested in providing general and sexual health education to incarcerated youth at the Rhode Island Training School (RITS). The program’s goal is to increase the level of knowledge and health literacy of RITS residents in various health topics. These include sexual education, mental health, sleep, harm reduction, and nutrition, as well as promoting healthy decision-making and relationships. As a part of this course, students will work in small groups to teach nine, 60-minute sessions to a group of 4-10 residents. Each resident will take a pre-assessment and a post-assessment to evaluate the efficacy of the program. This is a wonderful opportunity to make a lasting impact in our local RI community, and we hope you will join us!
Number of Required Hours: 20
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students.
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses.
Location: Rhode Island Training School (RITS) - Youth Development Center (57 Power Rd., Cranston, RI 02920)
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Vishwas Duggirala, Vaibhav Duggirala
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Thomas Bledsoe
Course Description & Expectations: Is it ever ethical to prioritize a patient’s best interests over their stated wishes? Should physicians honor requests for medications intended to hasten death? Is it fair to prioritize organ transplants for patients whose behaviors didn’t contribute to their illness? These questions lie at the heart of modern medical ethics—and are central to the Bioethics PCE, a course designed to foster critical thinking and meaningful dialogue about the moral complexities of clinical care. Through student-led discussions and guest lectures, participants will engage with a wide range of bioethical topics, including real cases from the RIH ethics committee. Potential guest lectures include discussion of the ethics of AI in health care, physician assisted suicide, and the rationing of lifesaving care during emergencies, among others. Open to all students regardless of prior experience, this elective offers a space to explore challenging ethical dilemmas and develop the tools to navigate them in future medical practice.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus / Zoom
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Caroline O'Brien, Timothy Rotermund
Faculty Advisor(s): Daisy Bassen MD, DFAACAP
Course Description & Expectations: Students will shadow and engage with community-based mental health organizations. The PCE will largely dedicate time to Hillsgrove Clubhouse, a community structured work ordered day for individuals with serious mental illness. Students interested in psychiatry and/or behavioral health will be able to engage with this population, discuss with clinical directors, and understand the structure of community-focused environments in the mental health sphere. Additional opportunities may be available at Eleanor Briggs Therapeutic School, Thrive Behavioral Health Center, and through panel discussions with mental health providers. Students will witness the unique perspective and strengths provided by community-based mental health practices.
Number of Required Hours: 16-20
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: Hospital, clinic, or community site
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Kira Nguyen, Icy Liang
Faculty Advisor(s): Barry B. Zeltzer, PhD
Course Description & Expectations: This pre-clinical elective course for first and second-year medical students focuses on dementia, disability, and aging-in-place. It aims to foster strong one-on-one relationships between medical students and older adults who are aging-in-place while engaging in socialization and creative arts projects. We will meet throughout the semester. There will be discussions and individual and collaborative art-making sessions with the residents at the Hattie Ide Chaffee Home, a 69-bed skilled nursing and rehab facility. The requirements will include keeping an ongoing journal during the course, reflection writings, hands-on arts projects with the residents and creating a final arts project based on the student's creative experience. The students will gain exposure to the culture of dementia and aging, and explore potential interest in dementia care, as well as physical and mental health aging issues. The arts are healing for the soul, employing arts to achieve measurable, functional improvement in patients. This pre-clinical elective will provide an avenue to create and implement arts projects that will holistically address medical and social issues. This course will encourage students to expand their ways of thinking by engaging in the arts that could make a positive difference in the lives of older adults.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: Hattie Ide Chaffee Home
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Amanda Lee Molina, Paige Liebel, Luka Pusic, Dhruv Anand
Faculty Advisor(s): Dana Guyer, MD
Course Description & Expectations: Death is something we will all contend with in our careers as physicians, regardless of specialty. In Death and Dying (D&D) we seek to explore palliative and hospice medicine through an interdisciplinary lens and think through how one can live and die as humanely as possible. Topics will include hospice and palliative care, the emerging role of psychedelics, alternative care for the elderly, and spirituality in medicine. Students will also have the opportunity to shadow palliative care physicians and/or volunteer with AMS-affiliated service groups (i.e. Brown Students at the Bedside). Sessions will consist of speaker presentations and discussion-based activities. This course aims to equip future physicians, regardless of their intended future specialty, with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of death and dying.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 10
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: Students who choose to volunteer with AMS-affiliated service groups (i.e. Brown Students at the Bedside) may count that time towards the service learning requirement.
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Joanne Lee, Madeline Day, Ananya Uddanti, Sriya Yalamanchili
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Ana Albuja
Course Description & Expectations: Although approximately 27% of people in the United States have a disability, one study found that only 40.7% of physicians were “very confident” about their ability to provide equal quality care to patients with disability. The Disability in Medicine PCE looks to provide lessons and hands-on experiences around accessibility, disability, and equal care as well as opportunities to meet community members from organizations engaged in disability self advocacy. Topics will include social determinants of health, disability-sensitive bedside manner – such as how to perform exams with mobility aids and how to communicate with patients who may use alternative methods of communication to speech – and more.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Ekaterina Koelliker, Arianne Parvaresh-Rizi, Morgan Emokpae
Faculty Advisor(s): Keegan McNally, MD; K. Scarlett Handley, RN, BSN
Course Description & Expectations: The primary focus of this elective is to increase early exposure and begin building competence with essential procedural skills that all medical students will be exposed to in their graduate medical education. Each session will focus on a brief presentation and demonstration of a specific procedural skill, followed by time for observed practice and hands-on experience using various models and simulations. The procedures covered in the course will range from orotracheal intubation to diagnostic ultrasound and students will work directly with resident and attending physicians. Classes will be taught at Alpert Medical School. A final exam with a written and practical component will allow students to demonstrate some of the skills they developed over the course of the elective.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Kara Mickas, Rahul Sobti, Caterina Dong
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Sandra Musial, MD; Dr. Mariah Stump, MD; Chef Michael Makuch
Course Description & Expectations: Food and Health is a collaboration between Johnson & Wales University (JWU) and the Warren Alpert Medical School (AMS) to explore the intersection of food, nutrition, medicine, and public health. Food and Health presents a preclinical elective that offers a curriculum incorporating nutrition science, cooking, and clinical skills. The curriculum will be split between science lectures by our faculty trained in nutrition and lifestyle medicine, and practical culinary application sessions in the JWU kitchens. Each session at JWU will begin with a lecture by Chef Michael Makuch, followed by a practical demonstration of safe cooking skills and techniques. Students will then work together with JWU students to put what they learned into practice. Each night will conclude with a family-style dinner and a group cleanup of the whole kitchen. This elective provides a great way to learn lifelong dietary and culinary skills, fosters relationships, and creates a sense of community outside of AMS.
Number of Required Hours: 20
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus, Johnson and Wales University Harborside Campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Hamsa Shanmugam, Andrew Xu
Faculty Advisor(s): Ruhul Abid, Megan Feragne
Course Description & Expectations: Designed in collaboration with Brown’s Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE), Going Global: An Introduction to Global Health, is a preclinical elective offered to medical, PLME, and Gateways students who are interested in careers, clinical cases, and public health concerns relating to global health. This elective will introduce participants to current and historical global health practices with a focus on health equity, and provide early exposure to real clinical cases recorded by global health physicians. In addition to didactic sessions, participants will be given the unique opportunity to meet and learn from accomplished practitioners presenting for the CGHE-sponsored Global Health Grand Rounds lecture series. Recognizing the importance of research in the advancement of global health, participants may also request and be connected with a physician-mentor conducting global health research in their or a related field of interest. Learning objectives will include principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Students will be familiarized with the required skills and training for working in a global health setting including cultural sensitivity and respect for humanity. Awareness of local laws and regulations as well as safety measures will also be discussed.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Jake Lally, Kevin Ryff, Thrusha Puttaraju
Faculty Advisor(s): Megan Smith, PhD, MSW
Course Description & Expectations: The aims of this preclinical elective are (1) to introduce students to the unique resiliencies of and challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness and (2) to cover topics related to trauma, social determinants of health, health care access, and substance use, and the need for innovative models to address these. The fall semester will be held jointly with masters-level social work students at Rhode Island College and feature guest speakers with facilitated topic discussions. Students will also participate in street outreach either through House of Hope or the Rhode Island Street Medicine Program twice during the course in order to learn directly from people experiencing street homelessness. The Health and Housing PCE is a year-long elective. To receive credit, students must attend 80% of the course sessions, attend one street outreach shift per semester, and participate in an end of the year group discussion involving reflection on course material and outreach experiences.
Number of Required Hours: 20 (16 hours of class + one outreach shift which is typically 2-4 hours)
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students, Other
Max Enrollment: 50
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as one, year-long course
Location: On campus, Hospital, clinic, community site
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Sophia Chung; Mahir Rahman; Tas Rahman; Rafael Davis; Avani Ghosh
Faculty Advisor(s): Dean Eli Adashi, MD, MS
Course Description & Expectations: Healthcare in America comprises a series of lectures from renowned policymakers and other leaders on issues with pressing and contemporary relevance to healthcare, including substance use and opioids, gun violence, nutrition and food politics, housing and environmental justice, technology, health equity, behavioral health, and evolving models of care. In previous years, the course has allowed enrolled students and attendees the opportunity to learn from and connect with former US Secretaries of Health and Human Services, legislators, institutional and industry leaders, authors and journal editors, and others. Overall, the course aims to bring together speakers with diverse backgrounds that balance broad perspectives with expert insight on major topics that uniquely shape the experience of health and wellness in America.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as one, year-long course
Location: On campus; Hybrid; Zoom
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Clara Levrero
Faculty Advisor(s): Lauren Fletcher
Course Description & Expectations: The way our patients perceive, understand, and engage with the U.S. healthcare system is not only influenced by their own personal experiences, but also by the impact of the medical profession on their communities in the recent and distant past. This PCE will explore different historical eras and events to understand how they continue to influence patient care today. Topics will range from medieval contraception to the Tuskegee study to the AIDS epidemic. Each week will highlight a new topic to generate discussion on themes such as ethics, political discourse, and discrimination. Through case studies, films, field trips, primary source evaluation, and open dialogue, students will gain skills to critically evaluate the history of their profession and its impact on the patients they care for.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Andrew Yang, Stephen Fox, Mason Usher, Denise Danielle Tamesis
Faculty Advisor(s): Drs. Liz Chen, Hamish Fraser, and Neil Sarkar
Course Description & Expectations: The Informatics, Data Science, and AI for Clinicians PCE is a full year course targeted toward students with a range of formal backgrounds in health data and technology who wish to gain a broad survey understanding of the intersection of healthcare, data, technology, and AI. The fall semester offering focuses on providing basic coding and analysis skills to students with little to no background while providing guidance on accessing health data and exposure to past projects to students with more advanced technical foundations. The spring semester builds on the fall semester and will introduce more advanced topics in machine learning, large language models, and real-world AI applications. The course will be structured as a mix of lectures and hands-on labs led by faculty and students who are experienced in the analysis of health data as well as design and deployment of technology in real world healthcare settings.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students, Other (open to residents/faculty with interest)
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as one, year-long course
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Maria Andrade, Lena Noya, Marilyn Rodriguez, Christopher Sanchez Jr, Zachary Sweeney
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Nidia Schumacher
Course Description & Expectations: The goal of the course is to prepare students for basic patient interactions with Spanish-speaking populations in the medical setting. Besides consistent practicing of Spanish language and an introduction to medical vocabulary, this course will also explore the Spanish-speaking world as it pertains to health and culture. Class time will be devoted to reviewing new vocabulary and practicing Spanish language skills in the medical setting from the perspective of both patient and physician. The course will consist of 7 class sessions, 1 OSCE, and several charlas. Ultimately, this course will prepare students to communicate effectively with Spanish-speaking patients while practicing cultural humility and sensitivity.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Jade Nunez, Liliana Cunha
Faculty Advisor(s): Heather Nowicki, M.A.
Course Description & Expectations: This elective introduces students to Deaf culture, communication equity, and foundational American Sign Language (ASL) skills relevant to clinical care. Through Deaf-led instruction, students will explore core topics including Deaf identity, misinformation, language deprivation, and the medical consequences of communication barriers. ASL practice will focus on visual clarity, spatial grammar, classifiers, and essential medical vocabulary. Students will also learn best practices for working with interpreters, understand hearing interventions from a culturally-informed perspective, and apply skills through clinical case studies. Short video assignments and recommended readings will support in-class learning. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with practical strategies for communicating respectfully and effectively with Deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: N/A
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Timothy Reiad and Adam Dawer
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Hanan Khalil
Course Description & Expectations: In this elective, students will gain a basic understanding and proficiency of medical Arabic to communicate effectively in clinical settings with Arabic-speaking patients. This course may be of interest to students who hope to work with Arabic-speaking patients in Providence and elsewhere in the United States, as well as those considering a future career in the Middle East/North Africa region. The course curriculum has been adapted from Doctoring I, and the Master History Checklist functions as the template and primary teaching tool. In learning vocabulary, grammar, and basic phrases, students will be exposed to relevant cultural and religious aspects of the doctor-patient relationship. No prior experience is necessary for this elective – whether you have exposure to Arabic or not, the course content is designed for anyone wishing to gain basic clinical communication skills in Arabic.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Nathalia Beller, Max Garcia
Faculty Advisor(s): Giovanna Deluca
Course Description & Expectations: In this elective, students will develop foundational medical Portuguese skills for communicating with Portuguese-speaking patients in clinical settings. Designed for beginners as well as students with prior exposure to Portuguese, the course introduces core vocabulary, common interview phrases, and practical languages for history-taken, symptom assessment, and patient-centered communication. Using case-based exercises, role-play, and guided practice, students will also explore cultural and cross-cultural considerations that shape clinical interactions with Lusophone patients and families. By the end of the course, students will be better prepared to build rapport, conduct basic portions of a clinical encounter in Portuguese, and approach care with greater linguistic humility and cultural responsiveness. No prior experience is necessary for this elective – whether students have exposure to Portuguese or not, the course content is designed for anyone wishing to gain basic clinical communication skills in Portuguese.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Rohan Cherukuru, Thrusha Puttaraju, Harrison Martin, Jeffrey Bolnick
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Fred Schiffman
Course Description & Expectations: This course aims to offer meaningful exposure to the field
of oncology (medical, surgical, and radiation) to pre-clinical students through hands-on
experience with clinical faculty, fellows, and their peers. The course will be divided into multiple
components: topics-based lectures and discussions on oncology by attendings and fellows,
mock tumor boards, a fellow and attending on careers in oncology, and structured clinical
shadowing opportunities. This elective is for students with various backgrounds and levels of
exposure to oncology. The field of oncology is vast: it has surgical, medical, and radiation
branches, covers many organ systems, and is evolving due to advancements in basic sciences,
clinical research, technology, and global health. We plan to give students a strong overview of
oncology, covering all of these topics and more.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 16
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Meghan Moore, Vishwas Duggirala, Lena Navarro
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Ron Akiki
Course Description & Expectations: Introduction to Surgical Subspecialties is a preclinical elective designed to increase early clinical exposure to surgical subspecialties for preclinical medical students. Various surgical subspecialties that have been included in the past were plastic surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, urology, and neurosurgery (specific shadowing opportunities may vary depending on resident availability and student interest). The elective provides opportunities for students to participate in the operating room, on surgery rounds, and in surgical clinics, as well as learn surgical skills, and participate in seminars with residents and faculty. The elective is overseen by surgical attendings and directed by surgical residents, who establish mentoring relationships with enrolled medical students.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus, Hospital, clinic, or community site
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: Yes
Student Leader(s): Téa Baumgartner, Marisol Pacheco, Mick Chivers
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Brent Emigh
Course Description & Expectations: The Introduction to Trauma & Acute Care Surgery pre-clinical elective is a semester-long course offered in both Fall and Spring. It is designed to introduce students to the acute surgical patient, as well as to the decision-making process that leads a trauma surgeon to take a patient to the operating room. This elective will explore a myriad of surgical subspecialties and how they interface with acute trauma care. The class consists of a suturing workshop, subspecialist discussion, grand trauma rounds at RIH, trauma surgeon shadowing, and brief student presentations.
Number of Required Hours: 24 (4 shadowing, 3 presentation preparation and final session, 14 hours of guest lecture seminars, 1 hour trauma conference, 2 hour suturing workshop)
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus, Hospital, clinic, or community site
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: Yes
Student Leader(s): Saajan Patel, Adam Dawer, Campbell Thurman, Alexander Lewis
Faculty Advisor(s): Oliver Wisco, DO
Course Description & Expectations: The Leadership in Medicine pre-clinical elective is designed to inspire and empower medical students to develop the leadership skills essential for driving change and innovation in the evolving landscape of medicine. Through an engaging curriculum combining interactive discussions, case studies, and mentorship from experienced physician-leaders, students will explore topics such as effective communication, ethical decision-making, team management, and advocacy in healthcare. The course will include four guest lectures from industry experts, four faculty-led discussions on thought-provoking case studies, and the option to submit a leadership commentary to the Rhode Island Medical Journal. This will be a great opportunity to learn from and network with guest lecturers and facilitators holding leadership positions at Brown and national leaders involved in spheres of hospital administration, medical education, and the private and nonprofit sector.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Julie Gawenda, Julian Joseph
Faculty Advisor(s): Dale Ritter, PhD
Course Description & Expectations: Medical Terminology is a pre-clerkship elective designed to give M2, M1, PLME, and Gateways students exposure to the Latin and Greek roots of medical language. Topics covered include Latin and Greek-derived vocab in Anatomy, Neurology, Pathology, Infectious Disease, and Doctoring. The objective of this PCE is to empower all students to comprehend intricate medical terminology by deconstructing it into simpler components and foster a deeper appreciation for the naming conventions prevalent in medicine and science. This course employs a mixture of lectures, student discussions, and Kahoot quizzes.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: N/A
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Allison Chang, Stephen Fox, Zachary Sweeney
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Kyle Martin
Course Description & Expectations: As medical students, researchers, and future clinicians, how can we employ and critique digital health technology as it increasingly shapes our lives? Join us as we explore how AI, social media, and entrepreneurship present opportunities and challenges for physicians and patients alike. Throughout the semester, we’ll have workshops distilling the fundamentals of algorithms and vibe-coding, guest talks with doctors providing beyond the exam room through startups and social media, and lectures investigating exciting and relevant new platforms and tools. We’ll conclude with a brief, informal final presentation. Ultimately, our aim is to help students navigate our rapidly evolving landscape, empowering them to do more with their ideas.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Ava Balbuena, Leslie Kennedy, Vivian Uzoechi
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Mary Beth Sutter and Dr. Martha Kole
Course Description & Expectations: The course is designed to heighten the awareness of medical students regarding the clinical care of pregnant women and their newborns. Students will increase their knowledge of the medical needs as well as the social, economic, and cultural issues that are unique to this population. MOMS is an elective in which students develop an individual student/patient relationship and follow the medical needs of a pregnant patient, attend diagnostic tests, doctors’ appointments, and the birthing process itself.
Please be aware that students will have to provide their mode of transportation to attend appointments. The patient and the student will determine the length and time commitment of the patient-student relationship. The pairing may continue into the spring if the patient chooses to have the student present at the birth.
Number of Required Hours: 20
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus, hospital, clinic, or community site
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes, if you are paired with a patient and spend ≥4 hours attending prenatal visits.
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Tae Min Kim, Henry Wang
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Julie Roth
Course Description & Expectations: This PCE invites students to learn about the intersection between music and neuro-related fields. Specifically, we look at how the brain is understood by physicians and musicians. This will be achieved by inviting leading experts from both neuro subspecialties and musicians from the Rhode Island and greater Boston area to journal club discussions of important literature in the field and application to how music therapy can aid in interventions for patients with neurological diseases. Additionally, this course will encourage students to expand their thinking by engaging in music-based volunteering activities in an assisted living facility, Hattie Ide Chaffee Home. Through this elective, students will gain a deeper understanding of how the arts can play an adjunctive role in medical care and how patients can benefit from music physically, emotionally, and socially. Students will demonstrate their knowledge and continued interest through final presentations at the end of the course.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus, Zoom, Hospital, clinic, or community site
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes, partially– Along with the lectures and discussions that comprises the bulk of the PCE, part of the final presentation asks students to engage in music-based activities and exercises with residents at the Hattie Ide Chaffee Home in East Providence, RI, applying the knowledge and skills they’ve learned from class. There, students will directly serve community residents of Hattie Ide in movement exercises to music, musical performances, and/or therapeutic art activities. Students will work with course leaders to determine how they will engage with the nursing home residents. Students will be asked to reflect on their experiences serving this population as part of their final presentation.
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Kate Elfers, Carlos Buri-Nagua, Jack Klein, Maria Andrade, Rhea Rasquinha, Zach Schneider-Lynch
Faculty Advisor(s): Kyla Dewar and Luckson Omoaregba
Course Description & Expectations: Pathways to Medicine is a mentorship program established in 2013 at AMS. Each year, over 50 Rhode Island high school students join students from AMS and local health professions schools (URI Nursing/Pharmacy, Bryant/JWU PA) for Pathways Sessions. During these 2-hour sessions held on Saturday mornings, high school students are introduced to hands-on experiences and principles relating to healthcare professions. High school mentees then spend dedicated time with their mentor, where they are able to form strong bonds, receive support on the college application process, learn about the professional school application process, and understand how to pursue their healthcare career goals. Mentees also work with mentors to create a final project that they present at the conclusion of the program in a symposium-style set-up. In this final session, mentees/mentors, parents, teachers, medical school faculty, and other community members have the opportunity to celebrate the work that mentees have accomplished.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 60
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as one, year-long course
Location: On campus, Hospital, clinic, or community site, Bryant University (First Aid), JWU (Anatomy Lab)
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Nick Neumeister, Alan Mach
Faculty Advisor(s): Kyle Martin DO MPH, Kate Smith PhD
Course Description & Expectations: Humans are living longer than ever before - but these gains have come at a high price for the planet. Shifts in weather patterns, land use change, and increased contact between humans and animals have led to unique threats to human health. This course will focus on four of these threats: (1) Emerging Infectious Disease, (2) Mental Health, (3) Heat-Related Illness, and (4) Extreme Weather. Instruction will include at-home learning, lectures from guest speakers, and small group discussions. In addition, this course will include a service-learning component with opportunities for students to partner with community-based organizations pursuing work in areas of relevance to planetary health (Save the Bay, the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP), Providence Public Schools, etc.). This will satisfy the M1 service learning component. By the end of the course, students will be equipped and empowered to address the changing threats to human health on our changing planet. By the end of the course, students will be equipped and empowered to address the changing threats to human health on our changing planet.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: N/A
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Michael Sheen, Tae Min Kim, Daniel Ryan
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Bryce Perler
Course Description & Expectations: From “cold plunges” and “intermittent fasting” to wearable fitness trackers and supplement culture, the wellness industry is saturated with claims that mix science, anecdote, and marketing. This elective explores the physiology and evidence base behind these popular trends, empowering students to critically evaluate what’s legitimate and what’s pseudoscientific. Through lectures, discussions, experiments, service-learning, and debates, students will examine how scientific evidence is produced and communicated — and how misinformation shapes public understanding of health. The course encourages students to engage both intellectually and practically, translating what they learn into accessible education for the broader community.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 20
Semester Offered: Fall and Spring semester as separate courses
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Vaibhav Duggirala
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Thomas Bledsoe
Course Description & Expectations: Telehealth has evolved from a niche tool for rural access into a mainstream model of care delivery, yet fundamental questions about its impact on quality, cost, and equity remain unsettled. Through guest lectures from Brown faculty and national experts, external webinar sessions, and student-led discussion, participants will examine how virtual care plays out in practice across a range of clinical and policy contexts, including high-risk obstetrics, critical care, addiction medicine, digital literacy gaps, and the economics of eVisits. The course treats telehealth neither as a solution nor a problem but as a rapidly changing part of medicine that future physicians will need to navigate thoughtfully. No prior technical background is assumed, and the course welcomes students across all specialty interests.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus, Zoom
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Mason Usher, Megan Rabe, Jeramy Botwe
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Michael Goldstein
Course Description & Expectations: The Healer’s Art is an elective that combines seed talks and experiential exercises in a large group setting, along with small group experiential exercises. The course engages students in a discovery model or community of inquiry focusing on the meaning of being a physician and practicing medicine. The course is designed to encourage medical students to trust the power of listening and presence to heal; formulate a personal, comfortable, and compassionate response to loss; experience the healing power of grief; recognize that who they are is as important to the healing relationship as what they know; recognize awe and mystery in the daily practice of medicine; explore the concept of calling; write a personal mission statement; and explore the personal meaning of being a physician.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 12
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Zachary Schneider-Lynch
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Jeremy Warner
Course Description & Expectations: Have you used Wikipedia to look something up before a patient visit? Your patients certainly have. Wikipedia is the world's most visited health resource, with medical pages viewed billions of times a year by patients, clinicians, and the AI systems powering medical large language models. When you edit a Wikipedia article, you directly shape what the world learns about medicine.
In this PCE, students will explore a medical topic of interest while building skills in evidence-based medicine, literature review, and medical writing. A structured bootcamp introduces Wikipedia alongside specialty resources (WikiEM, Radiopaedia, Orthobullets, and HemOnc.org) with a focus on responsible editing and source evaluation. Students will work individually and in small teams to identify and improve real medical content. Regular feedback sessions with peers, faculty, and information specialists including the CMO of OpenEvidence culminate in durable, publicly accessible contributions to global medical knowledge.
Number of Required Hours: 16
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 16
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus
Service Learning Opportunity: Yes
Scrub Training Requirement: No
Student Leader(s): Lily Simon, Carlson Ogata, Aidan Welch
Faculty Advisor(s): Elizabeth Sutton, MD
Course Description & Expectations: Do you like the outdoors? Do you like problem solving? Want to learn more about an important facet of Emergency Medicine? Learn how to manage serious injuries in a resource-limited environment with Wilderness Medicine! The course consists of evening sessions covering the practice of medicine in resource poor settings, most often in nature and removed from immediate assistance. Topics range from basic wilderness first aid to heat injury to evacuation decisions, with guest speakers providing focused explorations into more advanced concepts. Students will develop numerous practical skills including trauma assessment, needle decompression, splinting, and spine management/clearance. The course will also feature outings to the woods and beaches of New England so as to practice newly learned skills in emergency medicine scenarios!
Number of Required Hours: 22
Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, Gateways Program students
Max Enrollment: 15
Semester Offered: Fall semester only
Location: On campus, other (We will have a one day hike for this elective)
Service Learning Opportunity: No
Scrub Training Requirement: No