Profession of Medicine is a series of seven courses that span all four years of medical school. These courses provide an integrated curriculum of health systems science and the art of medicine to ensure a competent and compassionate physician that serves patients, families, and society. The curriculum is coordinated with the biomedical sciences courses during Foundations of Medicine (years 1 and 2) and the third-year clerkships during Clinical Applications.

The four Profession of Medicine courses during Foundations of Medicine and the two Profession of Medicine courses during the third-year include a coordinated curriculum, Principles of Profession of Medicine, that includes all areas of health systems science, as well as additional components that provide a well-rounded undergraduate medical education. The components of Principles of Profession of Medicine include the following:

• Medical Ethics and Humanities
• Leadership
• Scientific Method, and Clinical and Translational Research
• Evidence-based Medicine
• Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Science
• Cultural Competence
• Social Determinants of Health
• Health Equity
• Health Advocacy
• Population Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Palliative Care
• Law, Health Care Policy, and Health Care Financing
• Biomedical Informatics
• Health Literacy
• Information Literacy
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine

In addition, the four Profession of Medicine courses during Foundations of Medicine include two additional components, Clinical Skills and Active Citizenship in Community Health.

• Clinical Skills teaches medical students interpersonal and communication skills, physical examination skills, simple procedures, and health record documentation, which provides a solid foundation for success in the third-year clerkships.
• Active Citizenship in Community Health integrates structured learning with service learning activities to facilitate student participation. Service learning is an instructional technique in which students participate in a community service activity, in this case with academic objectives that are part of the Profession of Medicine courses. Students gain relevant, hands-on experience while improving the health of the communities we serve. The curriculum addresses social determinants of health, cultural competence, and preventive health.

The seventh Profession of Medicine course (PROF 9340) is a capstone review of medical ethics during the spring of the fourth year of medical school.