Our Curriculum

Medical terminology 

• Word structure 

• Common prefixes, roots and suffixes 

• System based medical terminology – cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, neurology 

• Quiz  

Medical ethics  

• Four major ethical principles in medicine 

  • Autonomy 

  • Justice 

  • Beneficence 

  • Non-maleficence  

• Institutional review boards (IRBs)  

  • Function of an IRB  

  • Ethical review processes 

• Definition and Importance of Informed Consent 

  • Components of Informed Consent 

  • Ethical Considerations in Informed Consent 

• Identifying Vulnerable Populations 

  • Safeguarding the Rights of Vulnerable Populations 

• Violations of Medical Ethics in History  

• The Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972) 

Patient History & Physical Exam 

• Components of the patient history 

• Example of a patient history 

• Review of systems 

• Physical exam components  

Diagnostic reasoning 

• Steps in differential diagnosis 

• Important considerations in differential diagnosis – common conditions, red  flags, do not miss diagnoses 

• Case study  

Public health  

• Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention 

• History of vaccines 

• Importance of vaccines 

• Herd immunity  

• Antibiotic resistance  

• Antibiotic stewardship 

​Primary research question and hypotheses  

Independent and dependent variable

Primary outcome and secondary outcome  

Types of medical research studies 

• Case control studies 

• Cohort studies  

• Randomized control trials  

• Epidemiological studies 

• Qualitative studies  

• Meta analyses  

Historical milestones in medical research  

Analysis of real-world medical research studies  

• Study design 

• Participant characteristics 

• Variables and measurements 

• Data collection and analysis  

• Statistical and clinical significance  

• Discussion and conclusion interpretation  

Critical appraisal of research findings  

Quiz 

History of immunology  

Basic concepts & terminology  

Innate immunity 

• Physical barriers (e.g., skin, mucous membranes) 

• Cellular components (e.g., phagocytes, natural killer cells) 

• Chemical mediators (e.g., cytokines, complement system) 

Adaptive immunity 

• Antigens 

• Antibodies  

• Antibody subtypes 

• Antibody effector functions (e.g., opsonization, neutralization,  complement activation) 

• B-cell immunity (humoral immunity)  

• T-cell immunity (cellular immunity) 

• T-cell subsets (e.g., helper T cells, cytotoxic T cells, regulatory T cells) ▪ Cytokines and their roles in cell-mediated responses 

Immunological memory 

• Vaccination 

• Types of vaccines (e.g., live attenuated, inactivated, subunit, conjugate) ▪ Immunodeficiency Disorders

Primary immunodeficiencies  

• Genetic basis  

• Types of primary immunodeficiencies 

• Clinical features 

• Diagnosis & management  

Acquired immunodeficiencies 

• HIV / AIDs 

• Transmission & risk factors 

• Clinical manifestations 

• Diagnosis & management 

Autoimmune disease 

• Loss of self-tolerance 

• Molecular mimicry 

• Release of sequestered self-antigens 

• Defective immune regulation 

• Epigenetic modifications 

• Types of autoimmune disease 

  • Rheumatoid arthritis 

  • Systemic lupus erythematosus 

  • Hashimoto thyroiditis  

  • Type 1 diabetes 

Exam  

History of genetics 

Basic concepts & terminology 

• Genes 

• Alleles 

• Chromosomes 

• Genotype vs phenotype  

• Homozygous vs heterozygous  

• Dominant vs recessive alleles 

• Genetic crosses 

Mendel’s laws of inheritance 

• Mendel’s experiments 

• Law of segregation  

• Law of independent assortment 

Punnett squares and genetic crosses 

• Construction of Punnett squares 

• Filling in the Punnett square 

• Predicting genotypic and phenotypic ratios 

Inheritance patterns 

• Autosomal dominant inheritance 

• Autosomal recessive inheritance  

Chromosomal basis of inheritance 

• Chromosome structure & organization  

• DNA composition 

• Histone proteins 

• Chromatin structure 

• Centromeres 

• Telomeres 

• Karyotype 

Chromosome abnormalities  

• Aneuploidy 

• Translocations 

• Deletions 

• Duplications 

• Inversions 

Molecular basis of inheritance 

• DNA structure & replication  

• Double helix  

• Base pairing and complementary strands 

• Antiparallel orientation 

DNA replication (initiation, elongation, termination) 

• Enzymes involved in DNA replication  

• Proofreading & repair  

• Mismatch repair enzymes  

RNA structure & replication  

• RNA transcription, translation & genetic code  

• Types of RNA  

• Post-transcriptional modifications 

Protein synthesis (translation) 

• Protein folding and modification 

Genetic Variation 

• Mutations and their types (e.g., point mutations, insertions, deletions)

• Spontaneous mutations

• Induced mutations 

• Replication errors and DNA repair defects 

Genetic testing

• Ethical considerations in genetic testing

• Role of genetic counseling in patient care 

• Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology 

• Gene editing techniques (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9) 

Applications in medicine, agriculture, and industry

Ethical dilemmas 

Quiz 

Anatomy & physiology of the heart 

• Chambers of the heart 

• Blood flow through the heart 

• Electrical conduction system of the heart  

Chest pain  

• Angina 

• Myocardial infarction 

• Treating acute coronary syndrome  

• Primary and secondary prevention of heart attack  

Disorders of the blood vessels 

• Hypertension 

• Peripheral artery disease 

• Chronic venous insufficiency 

Arrhythmias 

• Atrial fibrillation 

• Heart block 

Heart failure  

Left vs right heart failure  

Acute vs chronic heart failure  

Systolic vs diastolic heart failure  

Exam

Anatomy and physiology in the lungs 

• Components of the respiratory system  

• Structure of the lungs  

• Ventilation vs oxygenation 

• Pleura 

• Pulmonary circulation 

• Lung volumes & capacities 

Airway disease 

• COPD (bronchitis, emphysema) 

• Clubbing 

• Asthma 

• Atopic triad  

Lung tissue disease 

• Pulmonary fibrosis  

• Sarcoidosis

• Corticosteroids & their effects  

Pneumonia  

• Pneumonia vs upper respiratory infection  

Lung circulation disease 

• Pulmonary embolism 

• Pulmonary hypertension  

Pulmonary edema  

Diseases of the pleura 

• Pleural effusion 

• Pneumothorax

Exam

Anatomy and physiology of the GI tract  

• Salivary glands, taste buds, receptors in the mouth o Anatomy and physiology of the esophagus 

• Physiology of swallowing 

• Anatomy and physiology of the stomach 

• Chemical and mechanical digestion  

• Anatomy and physiology of the intestines 

• Anatomy and physiology of the liver 

• Anatomy and physiology of the gallbladder 

• Bile & bile acids  

• Physiology of the pancreas 

Diagnostics 

• Endoscopy 

• Colonoscopy 

• Sigmoidoscopy 

• Lab tests relevant to the GI tract  

Diseases of the GI tract  

• Esophageal diseases  

• Achalasia

• Barrett’s esophagus 

• Eosinophilic esophagitis  

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)  

• Peptic ulcer disease 

• Gastrointestinal infections  

• Helicobacter pylori 

• Clostridium difficile

• Inflammatory bowel disease  

• Crohn's disease 

• Ulcerative colitis 

• Celiac disease  

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 

• Liver diseases  

• Hepatitis

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) 

• Cirrhosis 

• Gallbladder diseases 

• Cholecystitis 

• Pancreatic diseases  

• Pancreatitis 

Exam 

Anatomy & physiology  

• Divisions of the nervous system 

• Gross anatomy of the brain  

• Microscopic physiology of the brain  

• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)  

• Blood brain barrier (BBB) 

Diseases of the nervous system  

• Stroke  

• Ischemic vs hemorrhagic stroke 

• Seizure  

• Neurodegenerative diseases  

• Dementia 

  • Alzheimer’s disease 

  • Vascular dementia 

  • Frontotemporal dementia 

  • Screening for dementia (MMSE, MOCA) 

• Parkinson’s disease 

• Multiple sclerosis 

• Headache  

  • Primary vs secondary headache  

  • Migraine headache 

  • Tension headache 

  • Cluster headache 

  • Red flags in diagnosis of headache  

• Neuroinfectious  

  • Meningitis 

  • Neurosyphilis  

• Movement disorders  

  • Essential tremor 

  • Restless leg syndrome

• Neuro-oncology  

  • Glioblastoma multiforme 

Exam  

Overview of blood components (erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets)

Functions of blood  

Blood type & cross typing  

Introduction to hematopoiesis 

Peripheral blood smear 

Bone marrow structure and function 

Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy  

Reading blood work (complete blood count) 

Disorders of the blood and bone marrow  

• Red blood cell disorders  

  • Anemia 

  • Lab tests in anemia  

  • Causes of anemia  

  • Polycythemia vera 

  • Thalassemia 

  • Sickle cell disease 

  • Reticulocytes – Splenic sequestration & Aplastic crisis  

• White blood cell disorders  

  • Leukocytosis 

  • Leukemia 

  • Lymphoma 

• Platelet disorders 

  • Thrombocytopenia 

  • Thrombocytosis 

  • Coagulation disorders 

  • Hemophilia 

  • DIC 

Exam

Overview of the structure and function of the skin 

• Skin cells 

• Skin examination  

• Lesion morphology and terminology 

• Dermatologic procedures  

  • Biopsy 

  • Cryotherapy 

  • Excisional surgery  

Disease of the skin  

• Acne vulgaris

  • Isotretinoin (Accutane)  

• Atopic dermatitis (eczema) 

  • Atopic triad 

• Psoriasis 

• Contact dermatitis 

• Diaper dermatitis  

• Viral skin infections  

  • Herpes simplex 

  • Herpes zoster 

• Bacterial skin infections  

  • Impetigo 

  • Cellulitis 

• Parasitic skin infestations  

  • Scabies 

• Skin cancer  

  • Basal cell carcinoma, 

  • Squamous cell carcinoma 

  • Melanoma 

Exam