Spartan Health Sciences University, School of Medicine offers a four-year (40 calendar months) academic program leading to the Doctor of Medicine degree (M.D.), and is taught on a trimester (four months) schedule.
The curriculum of the University’s Doctor of Medicine degree program encompasses a comprehensive course of Basic Sciences, Pre-clinical, bridging curriculum and Clinical Sciences that is four (4) academic years. The trimester period commences in January, May, and September of each year. A student may elect to enter in any one of the three (3) trimesters.
To provide the best possible medical education to the students, the curriculum is under continuous review by the Deans of Basic and Clinical Sciences in conjunction with the faculty, consultants, and Board of Trustees.
The five trimesters of the Basic Science program is an integrated presentation of the following:
● Basic medical sciences include Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology, and Pathology.
● Pre- clinical didactics include General Introduction to Medicine and Physical Diagnosis. Didactic lectures in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics/Gynecology and Surgery.
● A bridging curriculum is introduced for integration of Basic Sciences into Clinical Sciences.
The Clinical Science program consist of four (4) trimesters and is committed to broad exposure in the major clinical disciplines of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Psychiatry.
The Bridging Curriculum consists of series of problem solving exercises and clinical case studies, some in small groups settings, intertwined with the Basic Sciences and Introduction to clinical sciences. Students will apply acquired basic science knowledge to pre- clinical science topics using critical decision making techniques. They will also engage in a sequential process involving:
● Acquisition and presentation of medical knowledge
● Data Interpretation
● Problem Analysis
● Guided and self-directed learning activities
● Application of New Knowledge
The challenges of increased demands in the clinical curriculum and the emphasis on the integration of basic and clinical data in modern medical education necessitate the addition of a fifth trimester to the existing on-island curriculum. The inclusion of a fifth trimester with an organ-system review and expansion of the basic-clinical sciences interrelationships will better prepare our students for their clinical experiences and U.S.M.L.E. examinations.
Organ system review of the basic sciences in the fifth trimester will prepare students to meet the challenges facing modern medical education.
All students are required to demonstrate competency in the basic medical sciences before being permitted to begin clinical rotations. Competency is assessed from the University administered and required Comprehensive Exit Examination at the end of Basic Sciences program and passing the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1.
No student will be eligible for graduation until all academic requirements and financial obligations to the University have been fulfilled.