John Sealy SOM Educational AffairsInstruction Management Office

Learning Methods

During the preclerkship phase, students will participate in various learning modalities, including lectures, Team-based learning (TBL), Problem-based learning (PBL), Case-based Learning (CBL), labs, and small-group sessions.

Team-Based Learning (TBL)

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

Case-Based Learning (CBL)

Year 1 – Pre-Clerkship Courses (MS1)

Access eClass

Expand All Collapse All

  • DoCS – Doctoring & Clinical Skills

    The Doctoring and Clinical Skills (DoCS) course is a longitudinal experience designed to prepare medical students to practice both the art and science of medicine with competence and compassion. The course emphasizes the development of essential clinical skills, a foundational understanding of clinical reasoning, and a commitment to lifelong learning and personal well-being. It also cultivates respect for the patient perspective through cultural humility and an awareness of the social determinants of health.

    Spanning the entire pre-clerkship curriculum, DoCS provides training in history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, medical ethics, professional identity formation, preventive health, behavioral medicine, and evidence-based medicine. Clinical concepts are integrated with foundational and organ-system science courses through case-based learning that reflects common scenarios encountered in medical practice.

  • M2M – Molecules to Mechanisms

    Mechanisms to Molecules (M2M) provides a comprehensive foundation in biomedical sciences, including cell and molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, pharmacology, histology, immunology, microbiology, and pathobiology. Instructional methods include case-based learning, problem-based learning, team-based learning, interactive sessions, and workshops. Students develop clinical reasoning, data interpretation, and self-directed learning skills. The course emphasizes distinguishing normal from abnormal findings and prepares students to understand disease mechanisms.

  • GAR – Gross Anatomy / Radiology

    In the Gross Anatomy and Radiology course students acquire a foundational knowledge of the anatomy and radiology of the human body. Educational strategies adopted in the course promote the development of student-directed problem-solving skills, while encouraging team-work in both small and large groups. Dissection of the human body allows to introduce learners to their “first patient”, appreciate anatomical diversity, and practice basic clinical skills. Team Based Learning and other exercises integrate anatomy and radiology in the clinical contest. This allows learners to understand and manage the patient as a whole, integrating scientific concepts and socio-economic issues/barriers. Overall, activities presented in the course aim to stimulate students critical thinking, medical intuition, professionalism and compassion.

    The knowledge gained during this course will serve as a foundation for the remainder of the students' medical education and future profession.

  • DMC – Derm / Musculoskeletal / Connective Tissue

    In the Dermatology, Musculoskeletal, and Connective Tissue course, students are exposed to:

    1. the skin and its associated adnexal structures
    2. the musculoskeletal
    3. associated connective tissues
    4. related clinical skills

    By applying concepts from previous courses, including microbiology and immunology (PHD), anatomy (GAR), histology, cell biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology (MCT), to these organ systems, students will gain an integrated understanding of their pathophysiology. They will then apply this understanding in clinical scenarios through problem- and team-based learning.

  • NHB – Neuroscience / Human Behavior

    NHB is an organ-based course integrating basic neuroscience with clinical neurology and psychiatry. Students will:

    1. attain a fundamental knowledge of the structure, as well as both the normal & abnormal function of the brain
    2. understand the fundamentals of behavior and become familiar with treatment options for costly neural injuries and disease processes, as well as current limitations to our understanding of the body’s largest and most complex organ
    3. discover these remarkable aspects of the brain through Problem-Based Learning (PBL), interactive (Poll Everywhere) sessions, dissection laboratory sessions, Retrieval-Based Learning (RBL), Team-Based Learning (TBL) and collaborative testing (PBL Quizzes) as well as biweekly formative quizzes (Qmax).

  • CPR – Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Renal

    The Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, and Renal (CPR) course is a 12-week integrated systems course for first-year medical students that examines how these organ systems work together to maintain physiological homeostasis.

    Building on foundational concepts introduced in Molecules to Mechanisms (M2M), students apply principles of molecular and cellular physiology, membrane transport, tissue structure, and pharmacologic mechanisms to understand normal organ function. Students will examine how the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal systems coordinate to maintain physiologic homeostasis.

    The course emphasizes the relationships between cardiac output, pulmonary gas exchange, and renal regulation of fluid, electrolytes, and acid–base balance in sustaining volume homeostasis and tissue perfusion (oxygen and nutrient delivery) blood pressure. Students also analyze how disruptions in these integrated mechanisms lead to common pathophysiologic conditions affecting the heart, lungs, and kidneys.

    Particular attention is given to sodium and water regulation, highlighting how nephron transport processes link renal function with cardiovascular hemodynamics and pulmonary fluid balance. Interactive learning activities reinforce these connections and support the development of early clinical reasoning grounded in foundational science.

Year 2 – Pre-Clerkship Courses (MS2)

Access eClass

Expand All Collapse All

  • DoCS – Doctoring & Clinical Skills

    The Doctoring and Clinical Skills (DoCS) course is a longitudinal experience designed to prepare medical students to practice both the art and science of medicine with competence and compassion. The course emphasizes the development of essential clinical skills, a foundational understanding of clinical reasoning, and a commitment to lifelong learning and personal well-being. It also cultivates respect for the patient perspective through cultural humility and an awareness of the social determinants of health.

    Spanning the entire pre-clerkship curriculum, DoCS provides training in history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, medical ethics, professional identity formation, preventive health, behavioral medicine, and evidence-based medicine. Clinical concepts are integrated with foundational and organ-system science courses through case-based learning that reflects common scenarios encountered in medical practice.

  • CVP – Cardiovascular & Pulmonary

    In the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary (CVP) course, students gain a thorough understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems in health and disease.

    Through Case-Based Learning (CBL) Problem-Based Learning (PBL), workshops and simulations, students discover how basic science and clinical medicine explain the signs and symptoms of cardiopulmonary problems and the physiology of their mitigation.

    CVP builds on knowledge acquired in the Molecules, Cells, and Tissues (MCT) and Pathobiology & Host Defense (PHD) courses, facilitating vertical integration across the curriculum. Students will apply biochemical, cellular, and genetic principles learned in MCT to understand the molecular basis of cardiopulmonary diseases. CVP aligns with concepts from PHD, where students examine the host defense mechanisms and pathophysiological processes relevant to cardiovascular and pulmonary health. Horizontal Integration with Respiratory, Fluid and Electrolytes (RFE) and Practice of Medicine 2 (POM2), further enhances the students' comprehensive understanding of clinical medicine.

  • GIN – Gastrointestinal / Nutrition

    The Gastrointestinal / Nutrition (GIN) course provides an integrated approach to understanding the pathophysiologic basis of gastrointestinal, hepatic and nutritional disorders as well as the pharmacological rationale for their therapy. The structure and function of the gastrointestinal tract and associated organs are explored at the physiological, cellular, molecular and biochemical levels in both health and disease. A variety of traditional, interactive and online tools are used throughout the course, with special emphasis paid to laboratory sessions in pathology and related disciplines. At the same time, students are introduced to the clinical approach to these disorders, including clinical, laboratory, and radiographic findings.

  • EER – Essentials of Endocrine & Reproduction

    The Essentials in Endocrinology and Reproduction Course (EER) is designed to ensure that medical students build up a critical mass of knowledge in the way that hormonal systems:

    1. regulate many of the body’s metabolic processes in health
    2. help the body respond to various maladies by adjusting appropriate metabolic parameters
    3. promote the genesis of reproductive cells, the fertilization of an ovum, the development of a fetus, and parturition.

    Medical students also will build knowledge in how derangements in organs that make or respond to hormones can lead to pathologic conditions, infertility, and the inability to complete a pregnancy. EER builds upon the Molecules, cells and tissues (MCT) course in integrating cell-biology and molecular-pathway principles into clinical presentations. Since hormones affect most cells in the body, there is some overlap with all other organ-based courses. There are scientific advancements in therapies (pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic and procedural), so in our course students learn the process of undertaking and interpreting clinical trials and learn about the regulatory process in the development of such therapies.

IMO Information