Distinctions

Through individualized experiences in the third year - the hallmark of a curriculum created from scratch to turn future physicians into leaders, a nine-month Innovation, Leadership, and Discovery block affords students the opportunity to pursue a distinction where they will concentrate full-time on advancing clinical practice through research, engage in the process of medical innovation, or focus on making an impact on the healthcare landscape in the community. During their engagement in their chosen distinction, students will also continue clinical practice in primary care, family, and community medicine with the option for other electives, as well as longitudinal courses in Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills, Interprofessional Education, and Leadership. 

Research

During the Research Distinction, students work with faculty to design and implement a project from multiple options spanning the spectrum of research at The University of Texas at Austin or our clinical partners. Working in a rigorous scholarly environment with a faculty mentor, they develop skills for investigation and learn how to communicate findings.

Social Entrepreneurship

During the Social Entrepreneurship Distinction, students will take a deep dive into social innovation, entrepreneurship, and capacity-building. Students completing the Distinction will learn how to leverage their knowledge of the healthcare system and medical expertise to make an impact in the healthscape (i.e., settings beyond the clinic). In this Distinction, students will learn how to move an idea for social impact from concept to reality, diversifying their skillset to include new skills in areas like program design, management, fundraising, impact evaluation, and more.

Clinical Biodesign

Design meaningful solutions to the current pressing needs in health care requires a variety of complex skills, including the ability to identify meaningful problems, design thinking to find creative solutions, and entrepreneurship to implement them. The Distinction in Clinical Biodesign offers medical students the opportunity to actively learn the process of medical technology and process innovation by working with biomedical engineering graduate students in a structured and mentored experience. As part of the program, students will identify concrete clinical needs and address them through technology.
The Distinction in Clinical Biodesign is a collaborative effort between the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UT Austin and the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease at UT Health Austin. The goal of this initiative is to train aspiring physicians and engineers on the process of medical innovation in order to improve health care in Austin and beyond.
 
Design is a process for defining and solving complex, human challenges. The practitioners of the future will require more than just clinical skills in order to translate human needs into solutions. For that reason, students embarking on the Distinction in Clinical Biodesign will be taught and mentored by a multidisciplinary team of engineers, designers, clinicians, and business experts in order to acquire the skills necessary for human-centered design of meaningful medical technology and processes. 

Requirements tab

The Dell Medical School curriculum is designed to train not just doctors, but physician leaders who are as comfortable taking on transformational health challenges as they are caring for patients. Every innovation, from the team-based learning to the Innovation, Leadership and Discovery Year, is designed to focus students on the distinct challenges of the 21st-century health and medicine - and engage students' creativity in solving those challenges. Students have the benefit of receiving core leadership curriculum and the opportunity to pursue individualized paths to that leadership, created for each student based on experience and interest.

Four-Year Integrated Curriculums

Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills (DOCS)

The Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills integrated curriculum provides an understanding of the role of the physician in the clinical setting and the community through longitudinal small group and clinical learning experiences throughout the four years of medical school. During the first year, the course will focus on patient interviewing, physical diagnosis, physical exam, patient write-ups from students' clinical encounters, clinical reasoning, and developing the doctor-patient relationship and a professional, empathetic and inclusive physician.

Interprofessional Education (IPE)

The Interprofessional Education integrated curriculum will fulfill the school's vision by producing physicians who are prepared for interprofessional collaborative practice. The longitudinal curriculum will immerse learners in interprofessional inquiry, application, and leadership to yield a measurable impact and outcomes. The learning activities will be guided by core competencies in the areas of values and ethics for interprofessional practice, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork. Medical students will learn and work with interprofessional students from social work, nursing, pharmacy, and nutrition, among others during their time at Dell Medical School.

Leadership

Dell Medical School Institutes

Dell Medical School houses five institutes that bring together faculty, students, and outside experts to study healthcare issues in a number of important areas.

• Dell Pediatric Research Institute
• Design Institute for Health
• LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes
• Value Institute for Health and Care
• Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute

Curriculum

First Year - Essentials Year

The pre-clinical curriculum will impart the foundational knowledge for students to prepare and succeed in medical school. This year is highly integrated and consists of eight courses with early clinical and interprofessional experiences.

Modules/Capstone

• Cells to Populations
• Medical Neuroscience
• Structure and Function
• Foundations of Disease
• Mechanisms of Disease

Longitudinal Courses

• Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills
• Foundations for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
• Foundations for Leadership Practice

Second Year - Delivery Year

The 48 week healthcare delivery curriculum consists of 40 weeks of required clerkships delivered as five eight-week block clerkships and one longitudinal clerkship, and six weeks of selective course options with a two-week vacation. Radiology, pathology and diagnostic content, as well as interprofessional experiences, are highly integrated throughout all clerkships. Three longitudinal courses with clinical skills, interprofessional experiences, and leadership practice continue into the second year.  

Courses/Clerkships

• Milestone 0 (One week)
• Internal Medicine (Eight weeks) 
• Women’s Health (Eight weeks)
• Psychiatry (Four weeks)
• Neurology (Four weeks)
• Pediatrics (Eight weeks)
• Surgery (Eight weeks)
• Emergency Medicine (Four weeks)

Longitudinal Courses

• Primary Care, Family, and Community Medicine 
• Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills 
• Interprofessional Education
• Leadership

Electives

Select up to four weeks of electives

• Geriatrics and Palliative Care Elective (Two weeks)
• Internal Medicine Elective (Two weeks)
• Surgery Elective (Two weeks)  

Third Year - Growth Year 

Nine months of the third year will be reserved for the Innovation, Leadership and Discovery Block. During this block, students will pursue a dual master's degree or select one of the areas of distinction: clinical/translational research, population health, or design and innovation in health care. Students will continue their longitudinal Primary Care, Family, and Community Medicine clerkship and will have the opportunity to enroll in two four-week clinical electives to maintain their clinical acumen and explore career interests. Students also continue to meet monthly in the longitudinal clinical skills and interprofessional education courses and periodically for leadership practice. Students also take USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK and CS. Students complete a week-long clinical skills immersion at the end of this year to prime them for the MS 4 year.

Block Rotations

• Independent Study or Dual-Degree Courses (36 Weeks)
• Clinical Electives or Vacation (Eight Weeks)

Longitudinal

• Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills
• Interprofessional Education
• Leadership 
• Primary Care, Family, and Community Medicine Clerkship

Fourth Year- Exploration Year

The fourth year consists of 37 weeks of curriculum with 14 weeks of required clinical rotations, 20 weeks of clinical or research electives and a three-week intensive residency preparation experience. 11 weeks of vacation are afforded to students in order to prepare for residency program application and interview. 

Block Rotations

• Two Acting Internships (Four weeks each, eight weeks total)
• Critical Care (Four weeks)
• Geriatrics/Palliative Care (Two weeks)
• Electives (20 weeks) 
• Milestone One - Transition to Residency (Three weeks) 

Longitudinal

• Integrating Leadership, Interprofessional Education and Developing Outstanding Clinical Skills