Doctor of Medicine

Dr. Dan Griffin, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education

Doctor of Medicine Program

PROGRAM MISSION

The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine was founded to address the shortage of physicians and lack of access to care in East Texas, with the singular goal of improving the quality of life and health in our region.

PROGRAM VISION

The UT Tyler SOM vision is to improve the quality of life and improve access to care in our rural region by training committed and regionally-focused physician leaders who work cooperatively with interprofessional teams to develop innovative, value-based healthcare systems; provide the highest quality care; discover novel treatments and improve processes; and partner with the community to address social determinants of health.

CORE VALUES

Perseverance - Persisting in pursuit of success, despite any obstacles
Excellence - Refusing to accept anything but the best in all we do
Respect - Remembering due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights and traditions of all
Community - Promoting a feeling of fellowship with others by focusing on our common attitudes, interests, and goals
Creativity - Using our imagination to generate novel ideas to solve the health disparities of East Texas
Service - Transformational, service-focused leadership in achieving daring goals

PROGRAM GOALS

Graduates of the UT Tyler School of Medicine will be immersed in their communities, utilizing a comprehensive education focused on reducing health disparities in East Texas, research, and collaborative clinical training that expands access to top-quality, regionally focused healthcare for all East Texans.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES (PLO)

Link to learning outcomes.

PROGRAM ADMISSION PREREQUISITES

Program perquisites for the MD program are:

Biology	11 semester hrs. required, 2 of which must be labs
Physics	8 semester hrs. required, 2 of which must be labs
Chemistry	12 semester hrs. to include one of the following course combinations: Two semesters of Organic Chemistry and one semester of General Inorganic Chemistry (for a total of 9 semester hours of lecture and 3 semester hours of lab Two semesters of General Inorganic Chemistry and one semester of Organic Chemistry (for a total of 9 semester hours of lecture and 3 semester hours of lab)
Biochemistry	3 semester hrs. of Biochemistry
English	3 semester hrs. of composition-based English
Math	3 semester hrs. of Statistics

Prerequisite courses must be completed with a “C” or better.
All prerequisite courses must be completed at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university.
AP and online credit and/or coursework for prerequisite courses are accepted. We encourage students to take traditional coursework. AP Credit will be accepted only if the school granting the credit lists the specific course(s) and number of credit hours granted per course on an official transcript. Online coursework must be from an accredited institution.
Prerequisites must be completed prior to matriculation.
Pass/Fail Coursework will be accepted for prerequisites courses taken during Spring 2020 to Fall 2021 semesters.

PROGRAM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

To be admitted to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program, a student must meet the following criterion and receive voting approval from the Admissions Committee.

Submit completed application through the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Services (TMDSAS).
College transcripts: minimum of 3.0 in last 30 hours of BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) courses.
MCAT: minimum score of 492 using the confidence cut-off from the past 5 years will be used in the evaluation process.
Essays
Letters of recommendation: minimum of 3 letters or 1 Health Professions Committee Letter/Packet with the option to submit one additional letter.
Submit completed secondary application.
Completion of the CASPer Situational Judgment Test (SJT) through Acuity.
Completion of the Duet profile through Acuity.
Prerequisite Courses (see Program Prerequisites section).
Candidates chosen for an interview will participate in two distinct interview types: multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) and a group exercise.

DESCRIPTION OF COURSE OFFERINGS

The School of Medicine (SOM) integrative curriculum design focuses on training future generations of physicians to address issues of health equity and associated public health disparities in rural communities. From the case-based and team-based learning to the distinction pathways, every element intends to focus students on the distinct challenges of 21st-century health in rural communities and to engage students’ creativity in solving those challenges. Student learning is enhanced and reinforced through interprofessional education/experiences spanning the four-year curricular continuum and opportunities to pursue individualized pathways reflecting student interest. This pioneering integrated educational program incorporates guided, self-directed learning, education on health care delivery systems, and emphasis on health: community, occupational and preventive.

Curriculum Overview by Year

Phase 1 - Scientific Foundations

65 weeks: instructional plans focus upon the foundational scientific and clinical knowledge scaffolding essential to the clinical practice of medicine.

Phase 2 - Clinical Experiences

Phase 2 consists of 49 weeks of clinical instruction and a transition week, 42 weeks of core requirements, and six weeks of specialty selective course options (2 weeks in IM and 4 weeks in Surgery). Over the course of the year, the students continue the Community and Rural Medicine longitudinal clerkship with an assigned clinical faculty member.

Phase 3 - Clinical Practice and Scholarship

62 weeks: 16 weeks of clinical rotation requirements, 16 weeks of clinical or research electives, 12 weeks of individualized pathway experiences, 12 weeks independent study, four-week transition to Phase3 and career preparation, and a two-week intensive residency preparation experience.

Teaching Outstanding Physician Skills (TOPS)

The Teaching Outstanding Physician Skills curriculum provides a skill focused understanding of the physician's role and competency in the clinical setting and the community through a mentored 4- year longitudinal small group and simulated clinical learning experiences. During phase1, the course focuses on patient/physician relationship, history taking, physical exam, patient write-ups and presentations, clinical reasoning, and developing as a professional, patient-centered, empathetic, and inclusive physician.

Interprofessional Education (IPE)

The IPE curriculum will fulfill the school’s vision by producing physicians with interprofessional collaborative practice preparation. The longitudinal curriculum immerses learners in interprofessional inquiry, application, and leadership to yield measurable impact and outcomes. Core competencies guide the learning activities in Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles/Responsibilities, Leadership, Communication and Teams, and Teamwork. The focus will be on achieving maximum effectiveness and efficacy from the synergy of interprofessional team members who bring complementary skills and perspectives to the problems associated with improving population health. During year one, medical students learn with an interprofessional team of students from nursing, pharmacy, and other health professional (e.g., kinesiology and occupational therapy) students. Phase 1 is divided into two semesters. The first semester focuses on understanding the team and the IPEC Competencies through case-based and simulation activities. The second semester integrate population health and public health sessions which run parallel to student team completion of service-learning projects for community partners. During phase 2,students will complete portions of clerkship rotations alongside various healthcare professionals and associated learners. They will be required to solicit specific information relating to the roles and responsibilities and they will be evaluated on their teamwork and communication among the team. . Years three and four are under development.

Population Health and System Science (PHSS)

The 18-month course in Population Health and Systems Science (PHSS) at the UT Tyler School of Medicine (SOM) aims to successfully prepare physicians to navigate and meet the evolving needs of medicine and complex healthcare delivery systems, while helping them to achieve fundamental competencies in Systems-Based Practice (SBP), Practice-Based Learning and Improvement (PBLI), and Healthcare Leadership, in the context of addressing the overall health of their patient population(s). Students will complete the PHSS course (PHSS IA & IB) integrated with the pre-clerkship Foundations Phase 1 coursework of the curriculum.

The PHSS course emphasizes the roles of healthcare administration, leadership, and management (HALM), public health/general preventive medicine (GPM), and occupational and environmental medicine (OEM). Given a focus of the SOM curriculum placed on Community and Rural Medicine, the students will also have exposure to Rural Health Services Delivery. There are also opportunities for cross-curricular collaboration including with IPE.

PHSS IA consists of 12 modules, once per month, roughly every 4th Monday afternoon, utilizing case-based learning and other active instructional pedagogies.

PHSS IB heavily emphasizes a field experience component and is comprised as follows:

Once per month, first six months of MS Year 2
Month 1 – health equity foundations, all students
Months 2-6 – experiential learning program with brief field “immersion” opportunities across 3 sub-groups/domains (HALM, GPM, OEM) in rural communities across northeast Texas (each field site held every month)
Five groups of eight students will “rotate” to all five sites over five months

MD Curriculum

School of Medicine – UT Tyler School of Medicine