Academics

VTCSOM medical education mission is to inspire a community of learning that embraces unique learner characteristics and cultivates lifelong learners and health systems thinkers positioned to improve healthcare through inquiry and humility. 

We seek to accomplish this through three synergistic identities:

Scientist Physician – a physician who has the ability to integrate clinical medicine and scientific inquiry and research, bridging the gap between bench sciences and direct patient care.

System Citizen – a physician leader who uses a systems thinking mindset in their professional role to develop and use the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to the holistic needs of patients, populations of patients, and health systems to achieve the best outcomes.

Lifelong Master Adaptive Learner – a physician who possesses skills and qualities of learning, adaptability, ability to thrive in changing environments, and ongoing personal and professional development, all of which lead to the necessary adaptive expertise to accommodate new knowledge and address novel challenges in healthcare environments.

Innovative Curriculum. Patient-Centered Focus.

VTCSOM employs a problem-based, patient-centered curriculum that contextualizes foundational sciences within a clinically-based framework. Clinical science education begins early, and clinical rotations are mentored by experienced preceptors serving patients from varied backgrounds.

Our health systems science curriculum prepares students to improve the quality of health care for patients and populations.

All students conduct original, hypothesis-driven research that spans the healthcare research translational continuum, with an emphasis on the inquiry process.

Value Domains

Woven throughout the curriculum, VTCSOM's value domains highlight key areas of knowledge and skill essential to modern medical education. Each domain offers a lens for understanding the foundational components of basic science, clinical science, research, and health systems.

Basic Science

Basic science is contextualized within a clinically realistic framework through a problem-based and patient-centered learning model as an integrated framework for all the foundational sciences. Students work in small-group teams on real cases from the community we serve.

Clinical Science

Clinical science education begins prior to clerkships through workshops, brief didactics, a robust on-site standardized patient program, and a state-of-the-art simulation lab. Clinical rotations are mentored by experienced preceptors serving patients from varied backgrounds.

Research & Inquiry

Research is incorporated throughout our four-year curriculum, with an emphasis on the inquiry process. All students conduct mentored original, hypothesis-driven research of significant scope on studies that span the healthcare research translational continuum.

Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice

A longitudinal health systems science curriculum that emphasizes team-based assessments and service learning prepares students to contribute to the system of healthcare delivery and improve the quality of health care for patients and populations.