Medical School Courses

1. Overview

In 2015, New Jersey Medical School introduced a new curriculum which resulted in many changes for the pathology faculty. The Disease Prevention, Processes, and Therapeutics (DPPT) course in which many of our faculty spent a significant amount of time teaching medical students. The new curriculum, which has an organ systems basis in the first two years, attempts to integrate education horizontally as well as vertically, so that students are exposed to various aspects of medicine throughout their entire education. The students are exposed to various aspects of patient care and clinical skill early in their education which is based upon a scientific foundation beginning with molecules and cells and culminating in organ systems and populations.

2. First Year Courses

The first year courses consist of Foundations (Module 1, Molecules, Cells, and Systems is a 10 week course which provides a framework in biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, pharmacology, physiology, and data analysis and Module 2, Hematology, Immunology, and Infectious Disease is a 12 week course in which students begin to develop understanding of the body’s response to disease processes), Musculoskeletal and Integumentary Systems (4 weeks), Cardiovascular System (5 weeks), Pulmonary System (5 weeks) and Renal System (3 weeks). Pathology faculty are involved in many aspects of these courses including course directing, lectures, laboratory sessions, and small group teaching. Residents are also given the opportunity to teach medical students during gross organ demonstrations.

3. Second Year Courses

The second year courses consist of Gastrointestinal System (5 weeks), Reproductive, Genitourinary and Endocrine Systems (9 weeks), Nervous System (11 weeks) and a Capstone which ties together the first two years of education (4 weeks). Again, pathology faculty are involved in many aspects of these courses including course directing, lectures, laboratory sessions, and small group teaching. Residents are also given the opportunity to teach medical students during gross organ demonstrations.

4. Third and Fourth Year Courses

In the third and fourth years, medical students are given the opportunity to rotate in the surgical pathology laboratory during the surgical and autopsy pathology course. In the third year, the course is offered as a two week elective in which medical students are introduced to all aspects of surgical pathology laboratory. Students join the anatomic pathologists during daily sign out sessions and also observe the residents in their day to day activities. In the fourth year, the course is offered as a two or four week elective which is similar to the third year course. All students are required to give a presentation at the end of their rotation preferably related to something they have seen in the course.

Several students over the last few years (usually fourth year students interested in pursuing pathology as a career) have enrolled in an independent study which is arranged by one of the pathology faculty. These students are given the opportunity to rotate through many of the areas of the clinical pathology service, including clinical chemistry, microbiology, transfusion medicine, and hematology. These students have the unique opportunity to see both sides of pathology which will be integral to their training as residents.