Academics

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine provides a unique academic experience that prepares students to be physician scientists and forward-thinking community leaders.

The school's curriculum provides students with a solid foundation in basic science, and clinical science, the opportunity to master clinical skills, and meaningful experiences in all the major clinical disciplines. Research and health systems science and interprofessional practice are interwoven throughout the program to produce doctors highly capable of pursuing any career option in medicine.

Phase I and Phase II

The curriculum is divided into two main phases with multiple blocks varying in duration and content.

Phase I (Years 1 & 2)

Phase I begins with orientation, continues for eight consecutive blocks, and provides students with a solid foundation in the four value domains: basic science, clinical science, research, and health systems science and interprofessional practice.
Phase I also includes dedicated time to conduct independent research and to participate in a wide range of interprofessional health care educational experiences.

Phase II (Years 3 & 4)

Phase II includes clerkships in two- four- and six- week rotations during the third year, and clinical experience in electives during the fourth year. Both years are integrated with continuing education in research and health systems science and interprofessional practice.

Value Domains

Our curriculum is organized into four Value Domains.

Our curriculum areas are interlinked and feature small-group problem-based learning.

Students engage in an individual research project during their four years, the end product, of which, is a paper of publishable quality in a major academic journal.

Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice emphasizes the study of how health care is delivered with the end goal of improving the quality of health care for patients and populations. It includes topics in population health, quality and safety, health systems analysis, health care finance, value-based care, informatics, health disparities in the setting of multidisciplinary heath care teams.

Maximizing Self-Directed Learning

The curriculum maximizes self-directed learning by minimizing formal didactic (lecture-based) sessions and emphasizing self-directed learning.

Small teams work in a problem-based learning format using patient cases. Continuous faculty assessment of student performance in small groups will be a critical aspect of student learning.

Online experiences, discussion sessions, and experiential learning are also employed.