Student Handbook - Academics and Assessment

The curriculum leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree is a four-year program divided into two components: the preclerkship curriculum, encompassing the first two years; and the clinical clerkship curriculum, scheduled in the third and fourth years. The curriculum is designed to foster development in the core competencies of the osteopathic professional along with additional competency domains that align with our mission at MSUCOM.

The seven core competencies of the osteopathic profession are medical knowledge, patient care, communication, professionalism, practice-based learning, systems-based practice, osteopathic principles and practice (OPP), and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). The four-year curriculum provides education, training and assessment to ensure each student develops competency in these domains.

The Program Level Educational Objectives expand upon the core competencies by explaining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes/behaviors (KSAs) that osteopathic medical students are expected to attain prior to graduation. MSUCOM faculty have identified and endorsed the following objectives:

• Osteopathic Principles, Practice, and Manipulative Medicine
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Demonstrate and apply knowledge and skills related to osteopathic principles and practice such that care of patients is approached from the distinct behavioral, philosophical and procedural aspects of osteopathic medical practice (K, S, A).
  • Recognize, diagnose, and treat patients with somatic dysfunction using hands-on osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in the clinical setting (K, S, A).
• Patient Care and Procedural Skills
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Provide osteopathic medical care that is patient-centered, compassionate, evidence-based, timely and equitable to promote health and the body’s self-regulatory and self-healing nature. (K, S)
  • Determine and monitor the nature of the patient’s concern or complaint; implement mutually agreed upon diagnostic and patient care plans that include appropriate patient education and follow-up. (K, S, A)
  • Perform all diagnostic and therapeutic clinical procedures essential for generalist practice in the delivery of high-quality patient care, promotion of wellness, and prevention of disease. (K, S)
• Medical Knowledge
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Interpret and apply established and evolving principles of foundational biomedical and clinical sciences to explain principles of health, disease and diagnostic and treatment options. (K)
• Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Assimilate and apply evidence-based medicine principles and practices, fundamental biostatistical and epidemiologic concepts and clinical decision-making skills to evaluate the validity and clinical significance of established and evolving scientific evidence. (K, S, A)
  • Demonstrate practical strategies for integrating best medical evidence and evidence-based principles and practices into patient care. (K, A)
  • Leverage systematic methods to ensure continuous self-evaluation of clinical practice patterns and practice-based improvements, including those that reduce medical errors and promote optimal, equitable health outcomes. (K, S, A)
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Exhibit skills and behaviors that facilitate effective information gathering and giving, empathic rapport building and shared decision-making in interactions with the patient, the patient’s family and caregivers and other members of the interprofessional collaborative team. (S)
  • Effectively document and synthesize clinical findings, diagnostic impressions, and diagnostic and treatment instructions in verbal, written and electronic formats. (S)
• Professionalism
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Adhere to the ethical, behavioral, and social science principles that underpin medical professionalism, demonstrating accountability to patients, society, and the profession in medical education, training, research and practice. (K, A)
  • Establish, maintain, and conclude the physician-patient relationship in a manner that is responsive to the needs of patients, appropriate to one’s scope of practice, and supersedes self-interest. (K, A)
• Systems-Based Practice
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Describe the larger context and systems of health care, including one’s role and responsibilities in this system, and potential impacts on practice and patient care. (K)
  • Identify areas for improvement to promote quality and patient safety while reducing medical errors, inequities, needless pain and suffering, waste and other inefficiencies. (K, A)
• Scientific Method
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Apply knowledge of the scientific method, research methods, and basic scientific and ethical principles of clinical and translational research to collect data, test and verify hypotheses, and conduct and evaluate research, applying findings into patient care as appropriate. (K)
• Self-Directed and Lifelong Learning
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Seek and apply continuing knowledge for lifelong learning and practice improvement, formulating appropriate clinical questions and receiving related evidence as appropriate to inform patient care. (S, A)
• Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Practice
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Foster a climate of shared values, mutual respect and effective team communication with other health professionals, patients and their families, and broader communities in health promotion and disease treatment. (S, A)
  • Practice collaboratively and appropriately as a member or a leader of an interprofessional health care team in accordance with Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies. (K, S, A)
  • Use one's role and those of other professions to promote effective, efficient, equitable care while learning in academic and clinical environments that promote interactions with other health professions and professionals. (K, A)
• Societal and Cultural Awareness and Advocacy
  MSUCOM graduates will be able to:
  • Provide sensitive, responsive patient care to a culturally and socially diverse patient population in varied clinical settings and across the lifecycle. (K, A)
  • Leverage system resources to advocate for and maximize the health of the individual and communities or populations at large. (K, A)

In academic year 2023-2024, MSUCOM launched an update to the preclerkship curriculum, representing the input of faculty, staff, and students as well as innovations and themes in medical education. The new preclerkship curriculum includes three segments:

• Foundations: Semesters 1 and 2
  The student will develop a base of knowledge and skills in the foundational biomedical sciences and principles of osteopathic medicine. Semester 1 (summer) will include gross anatomy and an introduction to osteopathic medicine and clinical skills. Semester 2 (fall) begins with a combined foundational biomedical science course that will introduce fundamental principles of the interrelated disciplines of physiology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, immunology, genetics, and biostatistics. Semester 2 continues with two transitional courses that will pair biomedical and clinical sciences. The Musculoskeletal System course will integrate the gross anatomy lab and osteopathic principles with clinical conditions. The Hematology, Oncology, and Infectious Diseases course will present the hematopoietic system, as well as principles of oncology and infections that will be further explored in subsequent systems courses. The individual Osteopathic Patient Care (OPC) and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) course series begins in Semester 2 and will continue throughout preclerkship.
• Systems: Semesters 3, 4, and 5
  Beginning in Semester 3, instruction will follow an organ systems-based approach. Each systems course will explore normal structure and function with integration of biomedical and clinical sciences. System-specific patient presentations, conditions, and their treatment will be introduced. Systems in Semester 3 include the Neurological System, Psychopathology, Genitourinary System, and Endocrine System. Semester 4 represents the start of the OMS-II year; courses include the Gastrointestinal System, Integumentary System, and Reproduction, Development, and Sexuality. Semester 5 completes the Systems segment with the Cardiovascular System and Respiratory System courses. Throughout this segment, the longitudinal clinical skills courses in osteopathic patient care and osteopathic manipulative medicine will help students to further develop clinical skills and address competencies in professionalism, communication, ethics, and interprofessional collaborative care.
• Capstones: Semester 6
  In the final semester of the preclerkship curriculum, the focus will shift toward application of biomedical and clinical sciences to the delivery of care in the clinical setting. Principles of patient management will be explored in the Ambulatory Care and Hospital Care capstone courses. Other domains of healthcare delivery and infrastructure will be addressed in the Health Systems Science capstone course. Final summative assessments of data gathering, physical examination, documentation, and osteopathic manipulative medicine skills will be assessed in the capstone OSCE examinations. This semester will assist the student in preparing to enter clinical clerkships and to complete the COMLEX-USA Level 1 examination.
• Clinical Experience
  Each student will complete a clinical experience during the preclerkship. This requirement may be met by completing a preceptorship rotation in family medicine or an international rotation. Other options to fulfill the clinical experience requirement are currently in development.

Instruction is provided by foundational biomedical science, behavioral science, and clinical faculty in classroom, online, laboratory, and small group learning activities.  

Assessment by written and/or practical examinations are incorporated in each course.  Self-assessment strategies are incorporated throughout the preclerkship curriculum. In the capstone semester, students will complete three formative “milestone assessments” to gauge areas of strength and opportunity prior to the COMLEX-USA Level 1 examination.

The academic calendar is maintained in an online platform called Medtrics; a detailed schedule of all instructional sessions and assessments is provided there at least four weeks prior to the start of the semester. A summary of major dates, including examinations, holidays, etc., is made available to students six to eight weeks prior to the start of the semester.

Most courses will provide digital course materials through D2L, MSU’s learning management system. Multimedia course materials may include prerecorded lectures, required or suggested readings, access to online textbooks through MSU Libraries, and other resources. Some courses will utilize third-party systems or applications to enhance learning. These resources are described in greater detail in the Technology at MSUCOM site available to enrolled students.

The clerkship curriculum includes required core rotations and elective rotations in primary care, medical, and surgical disciplines, as well as longitudinal courses in the third and fourth year. The roster of required rotations and other clerkship elements are reviewed and periodically updated by the College Curriculum Committee. The clerkship curriculum begins with a Transitions to Clerkship course. Students complete clinical rotation assignments in the core disciplines of family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, surgery, psychiatry, and neurology, as well as additional weeks of elective rotations. Following the core rotations, students will take the COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE written examination. Each student must also complete and pass a required Clinical Performance Competency Assessment administered at the college.

Two courses run concurrently with rotations during the clerkship curriculum. In the third year, students participate in the Core Clinical Concepts (C3) longitudinal course to develop the clinical skills needed for residency and beyond. The C3 curriculum includes nine one-month modules of clinical education encompassing self-directed online learning and classroom instruction at the student’s base hospital. This didactic curriculum includes symptom-based topics that can relate to multiple specialties. During the fourth year, students participate in a longitudinal course addressing clinical skills for senior osteopathic medical students.

Policies and procedures relating specifically to the clerkship curriculum are provided on the MSUCOM website and will be reviewed with students at clerkship orientation programs. General policies on supervision in the clinical setting, etc., are found in this Student Handbook.

In the preclerkship curriculum, students are introduced to osteopathic principles and practices (OPP) and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT); also referred to as osteopathic manipulative medicine or osteopathic manual medicine (OMM). The osteopathic philosophy incorporates a holistic approach to the understanding of disease and wellness, expressed in the tenets of the osteopathic profession:

• The body is a unit; the person is a unity of body, mind, and spirit.
• The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance.
• Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated.
• Rational treatment is based on the above three principles.

The use of palpatory skills and treatments is introduced in the first semester in the Introduction to Osteopathic Medicine and Clinical Skills course. The Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) course series in semesters two through six will address OMM techniques used by osteopathic physicians to diagnose illness and injury and promote the body’s natural ability toward self-healing. In these courses, students will work with peers to practice skills, with attention to promoting a safe instructional environment. For more information on this, please see the Policy on Osteopathic Clinical Training and Student Safety in the Policies and Procedures section of this handbook.

The use of OPP and OMM are included in the clerkship curriculum through the Core Clinical Concepts (C3) didactics program and objectives in required and elective rotations in the third and fourth years.

Delivery of healthcare that is patient-centric and uses effective communication is fundamental to the osteopathic philosophy. Interprofessional education is defined by the World Health Organization as “when two or more professions (students, residents, and health workers) learn with, about, and from each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.” MSUCOM students have educational and clinical experiences throughout the four-year curriculum that are designed to promote effective interactions with patients, families, and members of the healthcare team and align with the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies, which include Roles and Responsibilities, Values and Ethics, Teams and Teamwork, and Interprofessional Communication.

Principles of scientific methodology and its application are incorporated into the foundational basic science and systems courses during the preclerkship curriculum. In the Osteopathic Patient Care course series, students learn and apply critical review of medical literature and concepts of evidence-based medicine. Learning objectives within these themes are continued into the clerkship curriculum, where students will apply the principles to delivery of patient care.

The MSUCOM curriculum assists students in developing skills and strategies for lifelong learning. Students are encouraged to utilize technology to help identify and synthesize information. Principles of critical review of medical literature are introduced early in the curriculum and are reinforced in the OPC course series and in clerkship rotations. Academic advisors and self-directed guides are available to help students develop useful learning strategies. The format of the curriculum includes flipped classroom and other techniques that encourage self-directed learning and help students learn to manage their time effectively. In clerkship, students are expected to identify and utilize resources to enhance learning in the clinical setting.

Preclerkship Site Selection

Upon receiving an offer of admission, applicants to MSUCOM will indicate their preclerkship site preference. Site assignments will be confirmed upon receipt of the admission deposit and required forms, and incoming students are notified of their site placement by a confirmation email. MSUCOM cannot guarantee that admitted applicants will be placed at their preferred site. Enrolled preclerkship students may request a site transfer between MSUCOM locations by completing a request form and accompanying letter explaining the reason for the request. Criteria details and a link to the form are available on the MSUCOM Registrar page.

Clerkship Base Hospitals

MSUCOM has a network of community hospitals across the state of Michigan at which students complete core requirements of the clerkship curriculum. Students have an opportunity to identify institutions as their potential base hospital site. Base hospital assignments are determined through a selection process in the second year.

MSUCOM offers more than 30 elective courses in which students in the D.O. program can explore a wide variety of topics. These include research and scholarly activity, international rotations, study skills, and leadership, as well as student-led independent study.   

To participate in college electives, a student must:

• Meet eligibility requirements and prerequisites
• Complete the necessary steps for application, approval, and enrollment
• Meet all college and university requirements relating to immunizations and compliances

A list of available preclerkship electives by semester is posted here.

Clerkship electives are described in the clerkship curriculum here.