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The Clinical Science Program is designed to give students a broad spectrum of medical practice, training in clinical skills, and patient contact. The program consists of fifth semester, and core and elective rotations that are completed at U.S. teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Fifth Semester
UMHS students complete their fifth semester studies at the UMHS campus in Portland, Maine. The fifth semester consists of the following required courses, Introduction to Clinical Medicine II and Biological Basis of Clinical Medicine.
The UMHS facilities in Portland, Maine include the latest in simulation and technology resources. Virtual clinics utilizing human simulators are a regular student experience.
All student clinical experiences will be conducted by a team of experienced Maine physicians, many of whom have decades of both medical practice and teaching experience. Students will be assigned to physicians in actual patient care settings at several hospitals, clinics, and office health centers in and around Portland. The opportunity to work beside renowned Maine physicians is designed to build student clinical capabilities, increase student confidence, and enhance student performance on United States Licensing Examinations (USMLE).
Fifth semester students will have an opportunity to enjoy all that Portland, Maine has to offer, including succulent lobster, beautiful lighthouses, and scenic views. Portland offers all the amenities of a city such as museums, parks, and great shopping. Maine offers the mountains for skiing and hiking, rivers for canoeing, and of course, the incredible ocean coastline.
After passing Step I of the USMLE, students will be placed in clinical rotations at one or more affiliated teaching hospitals throughout the United States. This occurs under the guidance of clinical faculty, and under the supervision of the Dean of Clinical Sciences. 
These clinical clerkships include 48 weeks of mandatory course clinical rotations, as well as 30 weeks of elective clinical rotations. The core rotations represent the primary areas of medical practice and the elective rotations provide students with an understanding of the various specialties in medicine.
Clinical Affiliations
UMHS has established affiliations with a number of teaching hospitals in New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, and Puerto Rico.
In addition, we are continuing to expand the core clinical affiliations, and are in negotiations with a significant number of teaching hospitals in a variety of states.
Curriculum
Semester V
Semester Five courses are to be taken in order.
Semester V |
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| Introduction to Clinical Medicine II |
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7 credits |
| Introduction is made to core medical information necessary to begin the third year of medical training, building on advances made in the fourth semester of ICM. Didactics are blended with laboratory data interpretation, radiology and other imaging techniques, and electrocardiography, introducing core medical information necessary for the third and fourth years of clinical training. This will be done in a problem-based learning format stressing a review of the basic sciences, the development of case-centered learning goals and emphasis is placed on the introduction of a series of core medical conditions, integrating behavioral medicine. Critical emphasis is also placed on the development of ethical standards, specialization, as well as education and licensing requirements in the various states. |
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| Biological Basis of Clinical Medicine |
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4 credits |
| This course, in the final semester of the basic sciences curriculum, is designed to fully integrate the knowledge acquired in the various basic medical sciences and pre-clinical sciences during the first four semesters of study into a useful body of information that can be utilized to prepare the student to sit for licensure examinations (USMLE I). USMLE review also provides a solid framework upon which the clinical sciences can be constructed. Primary teaching will utilize a variety of visiting professors and medical professionals recruited from U.S. medical schools, in collaboration with UMHS faculty on St. Kitts, in order to provide an ongoing, fruitful review of the entire basic sciences curriculum. |
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Semesters VI-X |
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| Internal Medicine |
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12 Weeks |
| Students build on skills acquired in physical diagnosis to include the completion of a thorough history and physical examination of primarily adult patients. Students participate in general Internal Medicine areas, granting exposure to the diagnostic and treatment process as it unfolds. Students develop competence in evaluating broad clinical problems and patient management skills. "Hands on" patient experience is supplemented by tutorials and didactic sessions. Lectures will include the management of commonly encountered disease processes as well as an introduction to the use of diagnostic procedures. |
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| Surgery |
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12 Weeks |
| Students will be introduced to disease processes which require various levels of surgical intervention. Students develop skills needed by the general physician as well as those unique to surgery. Students further develop abilities in data synthesis and problem solving, and become oriented to the clinical setting related to surgery. Ideally, students follow the patient from admission through discharge. Students are expected to participate in all aspects of patient care: assisting in the operating room, emergency room, and acute care units. Opportunities will be provided for direct practice of simple procedures such as suturing, debridement and wound care. Students will be expected to observe and assist during various procedures in the OR and participate in follow-up and treatment of the post-surgical patient, as well as ambulatory practice settings |
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| Pediatrics |
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6 Weeks |
| Students receive a broad overview of general pediatrics. Experience will be gained with in-patient and ambulatory pediatric care. Pediatric intakes and ward rounds are the basis of inpatient care while ambulatory care experience is gained in general pediatric clinics evaluating patients with common complaints and disorders. This clinical rotation introduces the student to the challenging treatment of infants, children and adolescents; the diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses will be emphasized, but the student will have opportunities to learn about more rare congenital as well as acquired disorders. |
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| Obstetrics and Gynecology |
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6 Weeks |
| Students are assigned to obstetrical and gynecological patients for evaluation and follow-up. Participation in normal deliveries is stressed. Students are expected to follow patients through completion of delivery or surgery. Ambulatory obstetrical and gynecological care is stressed and patient contact is supplemented with conferences and didactic teaching sessions. Observation and participation in a number of live births will be provided. |
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| Psychiatry |
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6 Weeks |
| In a primarily institutional setting, the students will learn about the major psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, affective, and anxiety disorders. Students build upon classroom knowledge gained during the first and second years. Treatment of psychiatric patients in the in-patient setting comprises the majority of the rotation. The resources available for care of psychiatric patients are presented. Skill in the evaluation and diagnosis of the psychiatric patients is developed through direct patient interviews and didactic sessions. |
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| Family Practice |
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6 Weeks |
| Students work in both the private office and clinic setting and the hospital environment with family practitioners. Unlike other clerkships, this experience is not hospital based. Each student is assigned to an office environment, either a single practitioner or a group to experience how different it is to practice primarily in an out-patient setting. Each student will be assigned to patients as they enter the office, take a history and do a physical examination; define a diagnostic and treatment plan and then present it to physician. If the patient requires hospitalization, the student will participate in the course in the hospital. If out-patient care is needed beyond the initial visit, the student will schedule and do the follow-up care. |
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