MD Course Descriptions | NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine | NYU Langone Health

MD Curriculum MD Course Descriptions

MD Course Descriptions

NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine offers the requisite courses, clerkships, and learning experiences to complete your medical degree, preparing graduates to be leaders in primary care medicine.

Longitudinal Courses

Longitudinal learning courses are integrated with our basic and clinical science courses and clerkships. Our longitudinal courses include the following:

Practice of Medicine (POM)

The Practice of Medicine (POM) course is a longitudinal course throughout phase one that is designed to introduce core clinical skills training integrated with the rest of your medical knowledge courses. The core clinical skills include the following:

  • the components of the medical interview, including building patient rapport, gathering information about the patient and their condition, and sharing information to promote shared decision-making
  • adult and pediatric physical examination
  • oral and written communication
  • clinical reasoning to generate a tiered differential diagnosis that is aligned with medical knowledge acquisition
  • intra- and interprofessional communication and teamwork skills to building effective care teams

The POM learning formats include interactive large group conferences, small group skills workshops, panel discussions, inpatient bedside teaching sessions, and Objective Structured Clinical Experiences (OSCEs).

Health Systems Science (HSS)

Health Systems Science is a longitudinal course spanning all three phases. During this course students build foundational knowledge in six core health system science domains: healthcare structure, healthcare policy, population and public health, clinical epidemiology, value-based care, and patient safety. These learning experiences highlight how healthcare delivery affects patient outcomes and incorporates principles of leadership, teamwork, professionalism, ethics, and evidence-based practice.

Social Sciences, Humanities, Ethics and Professionalism (SHEP)

Spanning all three phases of medical school, SHEP fosters skills in self-reflection, moral reasoning, and ethical analysis in order to capably negotiate the complexities of clinical care and medicine in society. Structured small group sessions are centered on particular topics and skills.

Continuity Ambulatory Practice Experience (CAPE)

Continuity Ambulatory Practice Experience Course (CAPE) is an ambulatory care experience that spans all three phases. Students are embedded in ambulatory care practice settings where they gain experience taking patient histories, performing physical examinations, assessing and managing patients, and learning from and about other care providers and the systems in which they work. CAPE encourages the transition from observer to participant in patient care.

During phase one, each student is assigned to an ambulatory care provider in their chosen residency field: general medicine (which includes family medicine, geriatrics, or internal medicine), pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, or surgery. CAPE meets monthly in phase one.

Preclerkship Courses

Preclerkship courses foster essential medical knowledge acquisition in physiology, embryology, histology, and anatomy, as well as pathophysiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Our courses integrate key basic science concepts with core clinical knowledge to foster the ability to apply key concepts to clinical reasoning and answering clinical questions that will provide high-value care to patients throughout the life cycle. Learning modalities include large group and case-based small group sessions that support active learning.

Language Acquisition

Language Acquisition is an eight-week course that integrates core concepts in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, pathology, pathophysiology, microbiology, immunology, and pharmacology.

Cardiology System

This four-week course provides an introduction to the cardiovascular system. Topics covered include normal cardiovascular physiology, heart failure, hypertension, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, bacterial endocarditis, heart murmurs, heart valve disease, hyperlipidemia, preventive cardiology, and electrocardiogram.

Each morning, students take part in seminars that further integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine (M4) laboratory sessions focus on anatomy, histology, pathology, and radiology.

Pulmonary System

This four-week course provides an introduction to the pulmonary system. Key topics include pulmonary physiology, acute respiratory distress syndrome, asthma, bronchiolitis, chronic dyspnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, pulmonary hypertension, and tuberculosis.

Learning activities integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology.

Renal System

This three-week course provides an introduction to the renal system. Topics covered include normal renal physiology, acid–base balance, electrolyte imbalance, and kidney diseases.

Daily sessions integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine laboratory sessions focus on anatomy, pathology, and radiology.

Gastrointestinal System

This four-week course introduces students to the gastrointestinal system. Topics covered include congenital multi-organ motility disorder, Crohn’s disease, acute biliary pancreatitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, colon cancer, gastrointestinal complications in immunocompromised patients, abnormal results on liver-related tests, jaundice, and chronic liver disease.

Daily morning sessions integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine laboratory sessions, which focus on anatomy, histology, and pathology.

Endocrine–Reproductive System

This five-week course provides an introduction to the endocrine–reproductive system. Topics covered include normal endocrine and reproductive systems; pituitary diseases; growth disorders; thyroid disease; calcium disorders; diabetes, obesity, puberty, and the menstrual cycle; pregnancy and its complications; and benign and malignant conditions of the male and female reproductive tracts, including the breast, and genital tract infections.

Daily morning sessions integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine laboratory sessions focus on anatomy, histology, and pathology.

Musculoskeletal, Rheumatology, and Dermatology Multisystem

This five-week course provides an introduction to the musculoskeletal, rheumatology, allergy, and dermatology systems. Topics covered include medication allergies, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, sacroiliitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Daily morning sessions integrate concepts from disciplines that include infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine laboratory sessions focus on anatomy, histology, and pathology.

Brain, Mind, and Behavior

This six-week course provides a comprehensive introduction to neuroscience and behavioral systems. Topics include the normal neurobehavioral system, acute ischemic stroke, panic disorder, seizures and migraines, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, opioid use disorder, meningitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and sleep disorders in patients who have Parkinson’s disease.

Daily morning sessions integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine laboratory sessions focus on anatomy, histology, and pathology.

Hematology–Oncology System

This two-week course introduces the hematology–oncology system. Topics covered include the hematological system, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and bone marrow disorders including malignant hematologic conditions such as leukemias and lymphomas.

Daily morning sessions integrate concepts from disciplines including infectious disease, pharmacology, genetics, and embryology. Morphology of Medicine laboratory sessions focus on anatomy, histology, pathology, and radiology.

Morphology of Medicine: Anatomy, Histology, Pathology, and Radiology

This longitudinally integrated educational thread, also called M4, provides foundational knowledge of the four morphological sciences: anatomy, histology, pathology, and radiology. This module integrates with the organ systems and language acquisition courses.

Studying the morphology of medicine is similar to acquiring a new language—students literally learn thousands of new words throughout the course. Instructors use both regional and systemic approaches to teach the structures of anatomy and their relationships to one another and to describe the major systems of the body. Success comes from understanding medical terminology, visualizing the structures of disease in three dimensions, and applying this knowledge to solve clinical problems.

Students participate in M4 laboratories with collaborative and integrative instruction from pathologists, anatomists, and a radiologist. Through active learning approaches, students gain exposure to human anatomy and pathology from plastinated anatomy models, articulated and disarticulated skeletal models, and surgical and autopsy specimens.

Electives

We offer a variety of clinical elective rotations as part of our MD curriculum. In phase one, students have one week of elective time that is intended to help students explore their chosen primary care discipline. Electives are chosen via lottery.

Phase Two: Clerkships and Required Clinical Rotations

During phase two of the NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine curriculum, students participate in clinical training. Our clerkship rotations are competency based and follow our Educational Program Objectives (EPOs) in a framework of Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs), an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) initiative that describes knowledge and skills that all medical students should be able to perform upon entering residency.

We require the following clerkship rotations:

Internal Medicine Clerkship

During this eight-week rotation, students gain experience caring for adult patients at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island and participate in educational sessions about internal medicine topics. Students are assigned to an inpatient house-staff team and an attending preceptor small group. Students benefit from close working relationships with house staff teams and participate in an educational program that has been carefully and specifically designed for medical students.

Preceptor sessions, active learning sessions, and the core curriculum complement the clinical experience on the medical inpatient units. It is this total experience—clinical patient care, preceptor sessions, conferences, and core curriculum—that makes up the rotation period. Students are required to attend all preceptor, case discussion, and simulation sessions. In addition to didactic sessions, students participate in simulated learning focused on evaluating patients with a variety of conditions.

Neurology and Rehabilitation Clerkship

During this four-week clerkship, students learn the underlying principles and skills necessary to recognize and manage common neurologic diseases.

There are two primary goals of this clerkship: first, to become proficient at obtaining a neurologic history and performing a neurologic exam; and, second, to become familiar with basic neurologic disease processes, their presentation, work-up, and treatment. Students also become familiar with the psychosocial impact of chronic and acute neurologic disease on patients and their families.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship

This six-week clinical rotation exposes students to the breadth and depth of obstetric and gynecologic services at a major academic medical center. In addition to clinical experience, students participate in didactic learning sessions that include lectures, clinical skills workshops, and seminars. Students work closely with residents, fellows, house officers, and faculty members, many of whom are top experts in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

All inpatient experiences take place at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island. Outpatient clinical experiences take place within our ambulatory offices for general obstetrics and gynecology, maternal–fetal medicine, urogynecology, reproductive endocrinology, and gynecologic oncology.

Pediatric Clerkship

This six-week rotation includes a comprehensive introduction to general pediatric medicine through patient encounters, case presentations, and record keeping using an electronic medical record (EPIC). Students take thorough and focused patient histories and physical examinations for children from the newborn period to adolescence and perform common pediatric procedures.

Learning experiences are delivered in a variety of formats, such as case-based learning sessions, lectures, observed structured clinical experiences (OSCEs), and simulations. Students have the opportunity to work with a variety of faculty, resident preceptors, and other interprofessional staff, both in the inpatient and outpatient units. They learn to provide humanistic and comprehensive care to children who are well, acutely ill, and chronically ill.

Our curriculum is based on recommendations put forth by the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP). Each student is assigned to a faculty preceptor, whom they meet each week, and a teaching resident during their inpatient unit rotation.

Primary Care Clerkship

This four-week clinical rotation takes place at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island’s ambulatory primary care sites. Students provide acute care, manage chronic conditions, engage in preventive care visits, and gain a better understanding of the physician–patient relationship in outpatient settings with guidance from an attending preceptor.

During the rotation, students encounter patients with a range of common primary care complaints, formulate comprehensive patient histories, perform relevant physical exams, and develop appropriate patient assessment and management plans. This is a unique opportunity for students to work one-on-one, for an extended period of time, with a preceptor in the outpatient setting. This clerkship enables students to witness the full spectrum of disease and the gratification that the establishment of long-term physician–patient relationships bring to the practice of medicine. Structured didactic learning sessions, home visits in hospice care settings, and dental care education are also part of the clinical experience.

Psychiatry Clerkship

During this six-week clinical clerkship, students gain a range of clinical experience treating common psychiatric and substance use–related disorders in hospital- and office- based outpatient settings.

Students accompany attending psychiatrists, psychologist, or clinical social workers—or a combination thereof—on initial patient assessments, as well as on follow-up visits, and are encouraged to actively participate in each patient encounter, including conducting patient evaluations with supervision. Behavioral health patient encounters occur throughout the hospital, as well as in an office-based outpatient psychiatric setting. Students also assess acutely ill psychiatric patients at an adult emergency setting with an assigned attending psychiatrist.

Surgery Clerkship

This six-week clerkship in surgery is designed to provide the student with a broad experience in the general surgical disciplines. This experience is designed to emphasize direct patient contact, including all phases of evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment, and is based on the recommendation of the Curriculum Committee of the Association for Surgical Education.

Students spend three weeks on a general surgical service, during which they are given the opportunity to follow patients from initial presentation and evaluation, participate in the patient's surgical therapy, and provide care during the postoperative recovery period until discharge from the hospital.

During the remainder of the surgical clerkship, students gain broad experience in the other surgical disciplines, including exposure to bariatrics, surgical oncology, and robotic surgery. Each student is assigned to a preceptor for the entirety of the six-week surgical ambulatory experience. The student is expected to function as a member of the surgical team with supervision from residents and attending physicians.

Anesthesia and Pain Management

The goal of this two-week rotation is to enhance knowledge, understanding, and application of pre-op evaluation, perioperative and post –operative care and pain management principles. Students have significant interaction with anesthesiologists and other physician extenders specializing in anesthesia and pain management.

Electives

We offer a variety of clinical elective rotations as part of our MD curriculum. In phase 2, electives enable students to explore a variety of primary care fields. They are offered as a two-week block; electives are chosen in a lottery process.

Phase Three: Advanced Clinical Experiences

During phase three, students participate in advanced clerkships and clinical experiences. Our advanced clerkships and required rotations are competency-based and follow our Educational Program Objectives (EPOs) in a framework of Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs), an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) initiative that describes knowledge and skills that all medical students should be able to perform upon entering residency. Students also choose from a variety of elective courses to enhance their education and readiness for residency training.

Advanced Emergency Medicine Clerkship

During this four-week advanced emergency medicine rotation at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, students gain a comprehensive introduction to adult and pediatric emergency medicine from a variety of faculty, preceptors, and midlevel care providers, including nursing and other interprofessional staff in the emergency department.

Clinical experiences include a comprehensive introduction to emergency medicine through patient encounters; focused, complaint-driven history and physical exam of adults; common emergency procedures; and medical record keeping. Students participate in case presentations, common emergency procedures, didactic lectures, and simulated patient cases. Students also take part in the stabilization and resuscitation of patients, complete history taking and physical examinations, and the process of disposition for emergency department patients, which includes admissions, transfers, and discharges.

Critical Care Clerkship

During the four-week critical care clerkship at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, students develop the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to care for critically ill patients. Students have the option to rotate in an intensive care unit (medical, neonatal, pediatric, surgical) aligned with their career choice.

Critical care clerkship responsibilities include daily teaching rounds and following, assessing, and treating critically ill patients and be an active member of the care team. This rotation also includes didactic sessions on important critical care topics.

Subinternships

During their four-week sub-internship at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, students rotate in one of four areas of primary care – medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, or surgery – that aligns with their career choice. Students take on supervised patient-care responsibilities that mimic those of an intern; these experiences confer readiness for the intern year of residency.

Electives

We offer a variety of clinical elective rotations as part of our MD curriculum. During phase three, they are offered as either two- or four-week blocks; students participate in a lottery to create their elective schedule. Students are allowed to rotate to other institutions outside of NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine during phase three.

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