The Clinical Science Program—completed during semesters five through ten—is when students transition from the classroom setting in St. Kitts to hospital settings in the U.S. and Canada. The program is designed to give students a broad spectrum of medical practice, training in clinical skills, and patient contact.
The program begins with the fifth semester at our Portland, Maine Campus, followed by 78 weeks of clinical rotations at U.S. and Canadian teaching hospitals. Clinical rotations are split into 48 weeks of core rotations and 30 weeks of electives.
Students work both in the classroom and in local clinical settings in Portland—including hospitals and outpatient clinics—where they are further immersed in clinical medicine. The semester also includes an intensive USMLE Step 1 preparation course from Kaplan.
After passing USMLE Step 1, students transition into their core clinical rotations. Every student takes the same six core rotations—Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Family Medicine—at one of our affiliated hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.
The final 30 weeks of medical school consist of elective rotations, where students explore specialties that align with their interests. Hundreds of additional hospitals, beyond our affiliate list, are available for electives.
The newly integrated course consists of 15 weeks of USMLE review by Kaplan Medical and an introduction to the art of practice of medicine. The two courses, Introduction to Clinical Medicine II and Biological Basis of Clinical Medicine, run concurrently to prepare the students with the skills and competence necessary to pass the USMLE Step 1. Students will also sharpen their clinical skills in communication, professionalism, physical diagnosis, clinical reasoning, and formulating a treatment plan. Once students complete the 5th semester, they are prepared to sit and pass USMLE Step 1 and seamlessly transition into the clinical program.
The UMHS facilities in Portland, Maine feature:
Experienced Maine doctors teaching in real clinical settings
All student clinical experiences are led by a team of knowledgable Maine-based physicians, many of whom have decades of teaching and medical practice. Students are assigned to work with physicians in actual patient-care settings, including 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 the USMLE.
Life in Maine
In the fifth semester, students 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 big city, such as museums, parks, and great shopping. Maine also offers mountains for skiing and hiking, rivers for canoeing, and of course, the incredible Atlantic coastline.
During the last six weeks of the fifth semester, Kaplan instructors come into the classroom to work intensively with our students on USMLE Step 1 preparation. However, at UMHS, USMLE prep starts much earlier than that.
Read moreThe fifth semester gives students a chance to fine-tune their clinical skills under the supervision and guidance of our faculty and preceptors, before seamlessly transitioning into the Clinical Program.
Course | Credits |
Introduction to Clinical Medicine II | 7 Credits |
Biological Basis of Clinical Medicine | 4 Credits |
Total | 11 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.
This clinical course 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 in St. Kitts, into a useful body of information that can be utilized to prepare the student to sit for licensure examinations (USMLE Step I). This clinical course will utilize a variety of visiting professors and faculty recruited primarily from U.S. medical schools.
After passing Step I of the USMLE, students are placed at our affiliated teaching hospitals throughout the United States for their core rotations. This occurs under the guidance of clinical faculty, and under the supervision of the Dean of Clinical Sciences. For students who want to complete their core and elective rotations in a specific region, we have established regional centers consisting of multiple hospitals.
78-week clinical program
These clinical clerkships include 48 weeks of mandatory core clinical rotations, as well as 30 weeks of elective rotations. The core rotations represent the primary areas of medical practice, and the elective rotations provide students with an understanding of various specialties.
UMHS has created clinical hubs in key regions such as Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, and Puerto Rico, so students may complete the entirety of their rotations within a select region. Our goal is to continue to strengthen and build out these geographic hubs.
Read moreCourse | Credits |
Internal Medicine | 12 weeks |
Surgery | 12 weeks |
Pediatrics | 6 weeks |
Obstetrics and Gynecology | 6 weeks |
Psychiatry | 6 weeks |
Family Medicine | 6 Weeks |
Electives | 30 weeks |
Total | 78 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Students can choose from dozens of electives to engage in a variety of specialty medical fields, such as rheumatology, radiation oncology, pathology, and more. These electives serve to provide the necessary credits for graduation, while increasing the student’s exposure to various aspects of the medical field.
UMHS has established affiliations with over 20 teaching hospitals throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, where our students can complete their core rotations. We are continuing to expand our core clinical affiliations, and are in negotiations with additional teaching hospitals in a variety of states.