Program Description
Contribute to SKMC’s proud tradition of excellence. You will have many opportunities to develop as a leader in your profession — in clinical settings, research labs and community service. JeffMD, SKMC’s curriculum, will support you by giving you sound fundamentals, combined with elements you can customize to your interests. You will find strong integration of clinical experience and science instruction throughout your four years here. In keeping with modern medical practice, you will gain the analytical skills to evaluate changing data and treatment options, sharpened emotional intelligence, and comfort working in multi-specialty teams. The study of medicine has always been one of the most deeply satisfying, exciting — and challenging — ways you could develop your talents. JeffMD deepens all these truths at SKMC.
Graduation Competencies
- Patient Care
Physicians should provide patient-centered care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health. - Knowledge for Practice
Physicians should demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and social-behavioral sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to patient care. - Practice Based Learning & Improvement
Physicians should demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate their care of patients, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and to continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and lifelong learning. - Interpersonal & Communication Skills
Physicians should demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals. - Professionalism
Physicians should demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles. - System Based Practice
Physicians should demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal health care. - Interprofessional Collaboration
Physicians should demonstrate the ability to engage in an interprofessional team in a manner that optimizes safe, effective patient and population-centered care. - Personal & Professional Development
Physicians should demonstrate the qualities required to sustain lifelong personal and professional growth.
See additional information about Graduation Competencies on the SKMC Student Resources webpage: https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/skmc/undergraduate-medical-education/student-resources.html
Curriculum
At SKMC, our innovative curriculum prepares future doctors to learn actively and think critically as they develop core professional competencies to prepare them to make positive, impactful changes on healthcare.
Phase I
Phase 1 is focused on basic science and foundational clinical science. Phase 1 consists of four course sequences:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Experience | ||
| JMD 151 | Clinical Experience | 2 |
| JMD 251 | Clinical Experience | 1-2 |
| Foundations of Medicine | ||
| JMD 101 | Foundations of Medicine I | 24 |
| JMD 102 | Foundations of Medicine II | 22 |
| JMD 201 | Foundations of Medicine III | 17 |
| JMD 202 | Foundations of Medicine IV | 17 |
| Humanities Selectives | ||
| JMD 152 | Humanities Selectives | 1,2 |
| JMD 252 | Humanities Selectives | 1 |
| Scholarly Inquiry | ||
| JMD 150 | Scholarly Inquiry | 3 |
| JMD 250 | Scholarly Inquiry | 3 |
| Total Credits | 91-93 | |
These four course sequences, taken concurrently, create a bedrock of knowledge, clinical and critical thinking skills with a patient-centered focus that the student apply during their clinical years in medical school and beyond. Our Humanities Selectives and Scholarly Inquiry courses enable students to explore and concentrate on areas of their own interest.
- Length: 21 Months
- Focus on foundational science
- Clinical experience, appropriate to student’s level, starts shortly after matriculation
- Scholarly Inquiry activities begin with choice of concentration and first project
- Two months of vacation
- Prep for USMLE Step 1
Phase II
During Phase 2, students are exposed to core clinical specialties of medicine. They will learn to evaluate patients with a variety of conditions across age, gender, and psychosocial spectra.
Students will partake in team-based patient care and learn to interpret data, build differential diagnoses, and use literature to guide treatment. Phase 2 starts with a one-week Transition to Clerkships course that will prepare students for the immersive experience the core clerkships offer. During Phase 2, students will rotate through four twelve-week blocks of paired clerkships:
- Family Medicine with Psychiatry
- Pediatrics with Obstetrics and Gynecology
- General Surgery and subspecialties with Emergency Medicine
- Internal Medicine with Neurology
- Length: 12 Months
- Core clinical activities complimented by related science
- Research and humanities threads continue
- Four weeks of vacation
Phase III
Phase 3 of the curriculum is 12 weeks longer than the fourth year of a traditional curriculum, which allows students more time to prepare their residency applications and to take electives appropriate to their specialty interest. (Phase 1 is correspondingly 12 weeks shorter than years 1-2 in a traditional curriculum). Phase 3 begins in the spring of third year, allowing ample time for career exploration and development of specialty-specific skills.
All students complete core rotations and must fulfill all SKMC competencies.
- Length: 12 Months
- Students encouraged to identify specialty interest
- Science and skills training deepen exploration of specialty interest
- Students continue to work on common and specialty competencies for residencies
- Time included to prep for USMLE Step 2 and take vacation
- Program of scholarly inquiry wraps up
- Apply for post-graduate training
Thomas Jefferson, Sidney Kimmel Medical College (MD)/ Universitá Cattolica Sacro Cuore (MD)/ Thomas Jefferson College of Health Professions (MS)
Thomas Jefferson University and the Universitá Cattolica Sacro Cuore offer the opportunity for highly qualified students enrolled in the 6-year International English track in Medicine at the UCSC campus in Rome to apply for admission to the College of Population Health and Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Students who meet UCSC and Jefferson requirements interrupt their education at UCSC at the end of year 3, and enroll at SKCM to complete all four years of the SKMC curriculum. Upon graduation from SKMC, students return to UCSC to complete requirements for the UCSC MD degree. Students complete requirements for the degree of Master of Science (MS) in Health Policy during Year 1 and Year 2 summer semester breaks at UCSC, non-required elective or summer break time at SKMC, and after completion of the requirements for the SKMC MD degree.