{"id":13,"date":"2020-09-17T15:50:33","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T15:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geiselmed2.dartmouth.edu\/ome\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:47:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:47:01","slug":"curriculum-overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"Curriculum Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;color: #006900\"><strong>Geisel MD Curriculum<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\">Geisel\u2019s integrated four-year medical curriculum provides a strong foundation in the basic sciences, offers exceptional clinical experiences, and emphasizes inter-professional collaboration and teamwork. We are committed to innovation and quality improvement, and continually refresh our curriculum to prepare students to address contemporary issues in healthcare and keep pace with medicine\u2019s rapid advances. Our students develop competencies in eight broad areas: medical science; clinical care; population health; communications skills; personal, professional and leadership development; evaluation and improvement in medicine; professionalism; and collaboration and teamwork. Dartmouth\u2019s small class size provides an intimate learning community where students develop close relationships with faculty and colleagues that foster collaboration, inquiry and engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">Our curriculum comprises three phases of learning: Foundations of Medicine, Clinical Immersion, and Exploration and Differentiation.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3004\" src=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases-300x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1250\" height=\"626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases-110x55.png 110w, https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases-800x401.png 800w, https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases-580x291.png 580w, https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2025\/08\/curriculum-phases.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;color: #000000\"><strong>Phase 1: Foundations of Medicine<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>Phase 1 consists of courses organized into blocks and longitudinal courses that span the entire year.\u00a0 All courses contain highly integrated longitudinal topics, as well as problem-based learning (PBL) cases that emphasize clinical relevance. An 8.5-week summer break between blocks 4 and 5 provides students with the opportunity to pursue research, quality improvement, clinical experiences, or other personal interests.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Block 1 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#FOUNDATIONS\">Foundations of Biomedical Sciences<\/a><br \/>\nBlock 2 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#I3\">Infection, Inflammation &amp; Immunity<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#HEMATOLOGY\">Hematology<\/a><br \/>\nBlock 3 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#CARDIO\">Cardiovascular Medicine<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#RESP\">Respiratory Medicine<\/a><br \/>\nBlock 4 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#GI\">GI, Metabolism &amp; Nutrition<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#ENDO\">Endocrinology<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#REPRODUCTIVE\">Reproductive Medicine<\/a><br \/>\nBlock 5 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#RENAL\">Renal Medicine<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#DERM\">Dermatology, Rheumatology &amp; Orthopedics<\/a><br \/>\nBlock 6 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#NEUROSCIENCE\">Neuroscience &amp; Neurology<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#PSYCHIATRY\">Psychiatry<\/a><br \/>\nBlock 7 \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/foundational-curriculum\/#INTEGRATIONS\">Medical Science Integrations<\/a><\/p>\n<table class=\" alignleft\" style=\"width: 54.3821%;border-collapse: collapse;border-style: none;height: 312px\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 312px\">\n<td style=\"width: 7.56877%;vertical-align: top;border-style: double;border-color: #006900;height: 312px\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>Longitudinal Courses<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/preclinical-courses\/on-doctoring\/\">On Doctoring<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/population-health\/\">Population Health<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/preclinical-courses\/foundation-study-skills\/\">Medical Learning Science<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 8.64356%;vertical-align: top;border-style: double;border-color: #006900;height: 312px\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/\"><strong>Curricular Threads<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#HAE\">Anatomy and Embryology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#CDHI\">Child and Adolescent Health<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#EHV\">Ethics and Human Values<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#HE\">Health Equity<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#HIS\">Histology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#IMG\">Imaging<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#NUTR\">Nutrition<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#PATH\">Pathology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#PHARM\">Pharmacology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/curricular-threads\/#RS\">Research and Scholarship<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Phase 2: Clinical Immersion<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>This phase begins in April of the second academic year.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong> It includes required clerkships in six major clinical disciplines: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Family Medicine. These clerkships are six to eight weeks in length and are completed at a <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/admissions\/medical-education-at-geisel\/learning-sites-and-facilities\/\">variety of settings<\/a> including our two affiliated academic medical centers (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont), regional teaching hospitals, regional office practices, and more distant medical centers and hospitals to provide our students with an exceptionally broad array of clinical clerkship experiences. <a href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/admissions\/medical-education-at-geisel\/learning-sites-and-facilities\/clerkship-opportunities\/\">Geisel-affiliated clerkship sites<\/a> include Indian Health Service medical centers in Arizona and New Mexico; Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center, and Children\u2019s Hospital of Orange County, in California. The Clinical Immersion Phase allows ample time to explore specialties and electives with a schedule that allows students to take up to six weeks of clinical electives along with the six required clerkships.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Phase 3: Exploration and Differentiation<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>Starting in April of the third academic year, this phase includes\u00a0one required four-week clerkship (Advanced Ambulatory Medicine) and at least one advanced four-week sub-internship in one\u2019s field of choice. By completing required clerkships by April of the third academic year, Geisel students have 5-6 months to explore career choices through electives and sub-internships prior to needing to apply to residencies. \u00a0Students may choose from a wealth of opportunities on campus, across the US, and around the world. Students\u00a0can also design their\u00a0own elective with the support of a Geisel faculty member. In the latter half of the fourth academic year, all students return to campus for a capstone course that focuses on knowledge and skills important in residency, including advanced clinical skills, application of foundational medical sciences to clinical care, and quality improvement. These topics prepare students to excel during their residency programs and enhance lifelong learning skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Geisel MD Curriculum Geisel\u2019s integrated four-year medical curriculum provides a strong foundation in the basic sciences, offers exceptional clinical experiences, and emphasizes inter-professional collaboration and teamwork. We are committed to innovation and quality improvement, and continually refresh our curriculum to prepare students to address contemporary issues in healthcare and keep [\u2026] <\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"more_link clearfix\" href=\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/curriculum-overview\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/template-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","author-165"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PcEdLK-d","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":64,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3581,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions\/3581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/md-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}