The Patient Presentation Curriculum (PPC) is based on the most common ways that patients present to a physician. These presentations provide the framework for the curricular structure. The Year 1 curriculum begins with a Foundations course to provide basic information needed to understand the subsequent patient presentations and treatments. The year continues with relatively uncomplicated presentations organized by organ systems. Early clinical experiences are emphasized from the earliest stages of instruction through the Clinical Skills, Osteopathic Principles and Practice and Early Clinical Exposure courses. Also, in the first year, 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 topics in clinical sciences, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, anatomy and pathology. Mastery of these topics will be needed to allow student success in the courses to follow. Simple patient presentations related to the musculoskeletal, skin and integumentary systems provide a framework for the course material.
This course is designed to provide clinical science and biomedical science foundations needed for diagnosing, understanding the underlying disease mechanisms and treatment options for diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system, within the context of common patient presentations.
This course is designed to provide the foundational clinical and biomedical science needed for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injury of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems 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 of the blood and lymph system 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 of the central nervous system 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 gastrointestinal system 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 renal systems 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 disorders of the endocrine and reproductive systems within the context of common patient presentations.
Physician shadowing experiences at the Robert C. Byrd Clinic.
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.
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.
Culinary Medicine is the utilization of a unique combination of nutrition and culinary knowledge to assist patients in achieving and maintaining optimal health. This course is intended to expand students’ comfort in counseling patients in successful behavior change around nutrition and cooking.
Year 2 of the PPC 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.