Q: What's Innovative About Hopkins' Curriculum?

Johns Hopkins may have founded the traditional elements of medical education in this country, but it isn't resting on its laurels. Its current curriculum is designed to blaze a trail into the 21st century. While earlier models were faculty-driven, today's are student-driven.

The modern course of study at the School of Medicine rests on two themes: extraordinary flexibility and mastery of the basics of clinical science and practice. Rather than lectures, the emphasis is on small-group learning and interaction with classmates, faculty and patients. Students are presented with their white coats and introduction to patient care in their very first year. The blending of scientific thinking and the latest techniques of clinical practice is the pervasive theme throughout all four years. For the rest of your professional life, you'll fall back on those basic elements of medical education. So nothing is more important than the kind of solid foundation that distinguishes this curriculum.

But medicine isn't taught at Hopkins as an isolated discipline. You'll also explore how the field relates to the larger worlds of art, ethics, history, business and law, and you'll be able to choose from hundreds of electives in more than 50 departments. Many students actually design their own courses around special interests; some take classes outside the School of Medicine; others go after additional degrees-a Master's from the internationally renowned Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, or an M.D./Ph.D. But no matter where you choose to put your emphasis, one thing's sure: backed by the resources of one of the world's great medical centers, you'll be an active partner in what you learn and how you learn it.

Year One

The focus this year is on normal human structure and function. The program is designed to acclimate you to your new environment and your chosen profession. With a daily schedule that usually runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., there's plenty of time for self-guided learning, like taking on a service role in the community or a special project with classmates or faculty.

The stresses long associated with medical school have mostly disappeared. Hopkins students concentrate on one topic per quarter-Molecules and Cells, Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Neuroscience, and Organ Systems-which means that multiple exams are rarely clustered in the same week. Grades are determined by a combination of performance on tests and in small-group discussions, with short, low-stress quizzes along the way designed simply to keep students informed about their progress.

You'll get a taste of clinical life this year by spending time in the offices of practicing community physicians, where you'll meet patients as they navigate the health-care system. Then, in a weekly "Clinical Correlations" session, you'll participate in patient interviews and watch renowned physicians go through the diagnostic process.

Finally, you'll also get a taste of research. In weekly "Journal Club" sessions, faculty members present research papers just as they do at a scholarly conference, then field questions and discuss the work. Many students receive a stipend to spend the summer after their first year participating in or initiating research projects.

Year Two

This year the pace steps up. During the first three academic quarters, one or two afternoons each week are free for individual pursuits. Meanwhile, you'll learn about organ systems in Human Pathophysiology as you discover the art of history-taking and physical examination in the weekly Clinical Skills course that goes on throughout the year. Small-group learning sessions and laboratory work also continue on a weekly basis. Your first clinical rotation begins in early April, two months before most schools.

For most formal course work, Hopkins uses grades and written evaluations to assess student progress. Competition over grades, however, has never been an issue. The fact is, students from the Hopkins School of Medicine have a fine record of gaining placements in top residency programs around the nation and do well on the National Board exams. So, rather than focusing on grades, they find themselves caught up in the excitement of becoming a physician.

Confidence in the curriculum may help explain why The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has a dropout rate of less than 1 percent.

Years Three and Four

During these clinical years, Hopkins students work with faculty to map out an individualized two-year plan. You can tackle the required clerkships-in Ambulatory Medicine, Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Neurology and Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Internal Medicine-in any order you choose, and you have a full two years to do it.

The three primary sites for student clerkship programs-The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Sinai Hospital--are thriving medical centers with a combined total of more than 60,000 admissions a year and more than 500,000 outpatient visits. You'll also spend time in community-based clinics. Enhancing all these experiences will be the close relationships you develop with faculty and residents as you master the fine art of patient interaction.

Hopkins students say the amazing breadth of opportunities they experience clinically prove invaluable when it comes time to choose a specialty.

Medicine in Context

That physicians do not work in a world unto themselves may seem obvious, but that fact gives rise to issues of enormous complexity and urgency. That's why you'll spend time in the course called Physician and Society discovering how legal, political, economic, ethical and religious matters play out in a professional practice. And that's also why you'll discuss often-sensitive situations surrounding race, gender and sexual preference.