The Finding Health Curriculum (FHC) is designed to emphasize health and wellness, in addition to teaching about diagnosis and treatment of disease. During the first year, students complete two foundational Essentials of Osteopathic Medicine courses and two organ-system-based course blocks designed to provide the strong basic science foundation needed for the practice of osteopathic medicine. Throughout each course, there are two longitudinal threads embedded in the curriculum: Health and Wellness, as well as Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI). Early clinical experiences are emphasized from the first week of instruction through the Clinical Skills and Osteopathic Principles and Practice courses. All students receive instruction important to WVSOM’s mission of training primary care physicians for rural medical practice, including a focus on the special health care needs in West Virginia.
This course is designed to introduce basic concepts in clinical sciences, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, nutrition, anatomy and pathology. Students will receive an introduction to diagnosing and understanding the underlying disease mechanisms and treatment options for diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. This course takes a holistic approach to health and wellness that takes into account the diverse experiences and backgrounds of patients and how they present in clinical situations.
This course is designed to present topics in infectious diseases, immunology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, biostatistics, and evidence-based medicine. Students will be introduced to the microbial components of human health and the mechanisms of the immune system. Students will continue their introduction to diagnosis and treatment of human diseases with a focus on infectious diseases and immune disorders. Evidence-based medicine topics will highlight the importance of biostatistics and clinical studies and how they can be applied to practice.
This course is designed to provide the basic clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the nervous system, including those related to behavior and mental well-being. This is accomplished via didactics, guided learning activities, integration activities, simulation and standardized patient encounters that apply the biomedical sciences to clinically relevant case presentations.
This course is designed to provide the basic clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the Hematologic and Circulatory systems. This is accomplished via guided learning activities, integration activities, simulation and standardized patient encounters that apply pertinent anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, and pharmacology to clinically relevant case presentations.
Students receive instruction in physical diagnosis and evaluation skills such as auscultation, use of diagnostic equipment and physician-patient communication in a laboratory setting as preparation for early clinical contact. These labs include experience with standardized patients and human-patient simulators as well as physician shadowing experiences.
This course provides an introduction the principles of osteopathic medicine, emphasizing diagnostic palpation methods and multiple corrective procedures for structural abnormalities. Integration of osteopathic principles and practice with organ systems is maintained throughout the course of instruction. This hands-on course provides the foundation for practice of osteopathic manipulative treatment.
Year two of the Finding Health Curriculum continues with organ-system-based course blocks designed to provide the strong basic science foundation coupled with clinical examples needed for the practice of osteopathic medicine. These include the Respiratory System, Endocrine and Gastrointestinal System, Renal System, and Human Development and Reproductive System courses. A Multisystem Capstone course at the end of the second year is designed to expand the clinical topics covered throughout the curriculum allowing for an easier transition to the clerkship phase. Throughout each course, there are two longitudinal threads embedded in the curriculum: Health and Wellness, as well as Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI). The Health and Wellness thread will help students learn pertinent nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle approaches to preventing and managing illness and helping their patients "find health". The JEDI thread will teach about health disparities and medical ethics, and students will be involved in experiential learning activities to build the cultural humility that will enable them to care for a diverse patient population in the U.S. and the world. To achieve the highest level of integration, longitudinal Clinical Skills and Osteopathic Principles and Practice courses are synchronized with this sequence of system course blocks.
Year two of the Patient Presentation Curriculum continues the presentation of basic clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Second-year presentations will become progressively more complex and incorporate previous presentations to form a spiral curriculum that reinforces and builds on previous learning. Students will continue to develop their clinical and osteopathic skills in lab courses.
This course explores the clinical and biomedical sciences undergirding the practice of osteopathic medicine in regard to patient presentations involving extremity pain, rheumatologic diseases, muscle weakness, headache, seizures, gait dysfunction, sleep disruption, and trauma.
The cardiopulmonary course provides the basic clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart and lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and pulmonary pathologies using a variety of modalities including lecture, team-based learning, application exercises and other small-group activities.
This course will encompass two main areas of focus. The beginning of the course is devoted to concepts from the renal system; specifically, there will be a focus on the structural, functional and integrative aspects of the kidney and urinary system that underlie the pathologic mechanisms of the disease process. It begins with a review of the basic physiologic mechanisms that underpin renal function. There will be a continuation of evolution around the differential diagnosis of kidney diseases and therapeutics through case presentations of hematuria and chronic kidney disease. The basic clinical science and biomedical science concepts encompassing diabetes mellitus type II will be integrated into this module, as diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease. The second part of the course is designed to provide the basic clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injury of the gastrointestinal system. Specifically, the curricular content will be focused on the case presentations of jaundice and abdominal pain. This will be accomplished via participation in lectures, workshops, team-based learning and directed studies that apply pertinent anatomy, physiology, pathology, microbiology and pharmacology to clinically relevant case presentations.
This course provides an overview of clinical science and biomedical science regarding normal and abnormal human psychosocial-behavioral development as well as psychiatric classification and diagnosis of mental illness, within the context of common patient presentations.
This course is designed to provide the basic clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injury of the blood, immune and bone systems. This is accomplished via participation in lectures, workshops, team-based learning and directed studies that apply pertinent anatomy, physiology, microbiology and pharmacology to clinically relevant case presentations.
This course is designed to provide the clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for the diagnosis and management of abnormal uterine bleeding and diseases and injury of the genital-urinary system, contraception, menopause, osteoporosis and pregnancy, within the context of common patient presentations. This is accomplished via participation in lectures, workshops, team-based learning, and directed studies that apply pertinent anatomy, pathology, physiology, microbiology and pharmacology to clinically relevant case presentations.
This course provides an overview of clinical science and biomedical science related to motor weakness, stroke, localization of neural function, pain and addictions; as well as the medical and societal response to the phenomenon of the opioid crisis in the U.S., within the context of common patient presentations.
This course is designed to provide the basic understanding of pathophysiology, typical presentations, pathologic features, diagnostic and management options associated with rashes and skin lesions. The Medical Professionalism components will expose the student to professional responsibilities of a physician including participating in activities related to compassionate care, the safety of patients and commitment to ethical issues in research and patient care. Additional training in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Interprofessional Education (IPE) is provided.
Clinical preparation is emphasized throughout the curriculum in the second year of instruction in the lab-based course. Clinical instruction and practice are provided via lab and clinical experiences in the Robert C. Byrd Clinic and other medical facilities in the region including clinics, private physician offices, nursing homes, physical therapy, ambulance services and other allied health services. Clinical experiences include labs with standardized patients and with human- patient simulators. Additional training is offered in casting/splinting, suturing, ophthalmology, ultrasound, community-based patient education, end-of-life conversations and other medical procedures.
Training in osteopathic principles and practice continues during the year. The osteopathic concepts of the integrity of the body, the interrelationships of structure and function and osteopathic manipulative treatment in health and disease are central to the curriculum. One of the highlights of the second year is a student-driven free clinic for osteopathic structural diagnosis and osteopathic manipulative treatment under the supervision of OPP clinical faculty that provides students with hands-on experiences with actual patients.