Osteopathic Medicine

These courses are an introduction to the Health System Science considered the third pillar of medical education. In COM 1795, students will have an opportunity to discuss some of the complexities in health care, value-based care, quality improvement, teamwork, cultural humility, and more. In COM 1796, students will participate in a population health project at a designated clinic in which they will apply the scientific method of research to improve health outcomes of the targeted patient population.

These courses are an introduction to the Health System Science considered the third pillar of medical education. In COM 1795, students will have an opportunity to discuss some of the complexities in health care, value-based care, quality improvement, teamwork, cultural humility, and more. In COM 1796, students will participate in a population health project at a designated clinic in which they will apply the scientific method of research to improve health outcomes of the targeted patient population.

The focus of this course is the pathophysiology and clinical presentations of musculoskeletal disorders that are encountered in clinical settings. Team-based learning (TBL), study assignments (DSA), simulated patient scenarios (SIM) and clinically integrated sessions (CIS) will deliver the course content.

This course covers a variety of topics in basic behavioral medicine and psychiatry, including, but not limited to: the psychiatric interview; emotional reactions to illness; anxiety disorders; mood disorders; sexual disorders; child and adolescent development and psychopathology; suicide; violence, including domestic violence; personality disorders; somatoform and factitious disorders; legal and ethical issues; and addiction medicine.

In COM 1895, students will continue their population health project working through the scientific method of research to improve the health outcomes of the targeted patient population. In COM 1897, students will have an opportunity to write their findings as an abstract, a poster or oral presentation, or a manuscript for journal submission.

The clinical clerkship in Behavioral Health provides one required 4-week Core clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of Psychiatric illness and treatment through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and required inpatient settings. The curriculum content is delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a third year Behavioral Health clerkship. A required end of clerkship shelf exam will be administered at the conclusion of this clerkship.

The clinical clerkship in Women's Health provides one required 4-week Core clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of Women's Health through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and required inpatient settings. The curriculum content is delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a third year Women's Health clerkship. A required end of clerkship shelf exam will be administered at the conclusion of this clerkship.

The second clinical clerkship in General Surgery is a required 4-week Core clerkship and can be general or a subspecialty surgery clerkship. Students may select a clerkship from among a list of medical disciplines. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with a basic understanding of Surgery through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings. The curriculum content is delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a third-year surgery clerkship. A required end of clerkship shelf exam will be administered at the conclusion of this clerkship.

The Enhanced Study-1 is a 4-week long course. This clerkship is designed to provide students with an additional opportunity to prepare for the COMLEX Level 1.

This elective must be approved by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs & Assessment and is intended for students who are identified as at-risk and/or have previously failed a COMLEX exam and may need additional preparation and review time.

The student will submit a board study plan and timeline for their curriculum of study for approval, which will help prepare them for the COMLEX Level 1 exam.

COMLEX Level 1 is an assessment administered in a time-measured manner that integrates foundational biomedical sciences with other areas of medical knowledge relevant to clinical problem-solving and the promotion of health maintenance.

Competency domains assessed include application of osteopathic medical knowledge, osteopathic patient care, osteopathic principles and practice, communication skills, professionalism, and ethics. Competency assessment occurs in the context of clinical and patient presentations and systems-based practice as required for entry into the supervised practice of general osteopathic medicine and for readiness for lifelong learning and practice-based learning and improvement.

This course aims to have each student review through self-study approach the high-yield COMLEX Level 1 topics of biomedical foundational sciences and clinical disciplines in an organ system based approach of Dimension 2 including human development, reproduction, and sexuality; endocrine system and metabolism; nervous system and mental health; musculoskeletal system, genitourinary/renal system; gastrointestinal system and nutritional health; circulatory and hematologic system; respiratory system; integumentary system; and community health and patient presentations related to wellness that have been taught through the CHSU-COM’s curriculum in the preclinical OMS1 and OMS2 years. 

This course does not count toward the degree requirements.

This course can be taken in either the third or fourth year of the osteopathic medical student (OMS) curriculum.

This 4-week capstone course incorporates didactic presentations, practical clinical skills performances, competency based OSCEs and other assessments to help ensure students are proficient /competent in some of the Entrustable Professional Activities. Students will demonstrate their skills as table trainers alongside clinical faculty for the OMS-I and OMS-II clinical skills and OPP courses. Students will also attend additional counseling and advising sessions in order to help navigate their choice of residency training and the residency match process. This course is available for OMS-III and OMS-IV students. 

Clinical Sciences Integration II (CSI II) course is a multidisciplinary course that prepares students for successful completion of the COMLEX Level 1 exam, which assess students’ competency in integrated foundational biomedical sciences with other areas of medical knowledge relevant to clinical problem-solving and the promotion of health maintenance. Competency domains assessed include application of osteopathic medical knowledge,  osteopathic patient care, osteopathic principles and practice, communication skills, professionalism, and ethics. Competency assessment occurs in the context of clinical and patient presentations and systems-based practice as required for entry into the supervised practice of general osteopathic medicine and for readiness for lifelong learning and practice-based learning and improvement. The detailed examination blueprint can be found at Blueprint — NBOME. 

CSI II course aims to have each student review through self/ guided-study approach the high-yield COMLEX Level 1topics of Foundational Biomedical Sciences (Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Immunology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Pathology, Behavioral Sciences), Clinical Sciences emphasizing Osteopathic Principles and Practices, and Preventive care (Preventive Medicine, Nutrition, and Health Promotion) that had already been taught through the CHSU-COM's curriculum. 

This course provides designated time, faculty support (as needed), board-style practice questions, and learning resources (TrueLearn/COMBANK, KAPLAN, and Scholar Rx 360) for adequate preparation for the COMLEX® Level 1 exam.  

The course uses formative evaluation using question banks from multiple sources (COMBANK, Scholar RX 360, and Kaplan). Students are required to complete at least 2000 TrueLearn/COMBank questions over the period of the course with a minimum correct response rate of 55% by the last week of the course before writing the COMLEX Level 1 exam.  Two COMSAE (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Self-Assessment Examination) will be administered at designated times (1st COMSAE test will be on week 1 and 2nd COMSAE test will be on week 4 of the course). A passing score of 450 is required for passing the COMSAE 2 test.

The 4-week CSI II elective course includes 4 weeks of self-study time. (2.0 credit hours). This course does not count toward the degree requirements. 

Comprehensive Clinical Management (CCM)- II course is a multidisciplinary course that prepares students for successful completion of the COMLEX Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (CE) exam, which is a problem-and symptoms-based assessment, administered in a time-measured environment to solving clinical problems and promoting and maintaining health in providing osteopathic medical care to patients, principally in the supervised (Graduate Medical Education: GME) setting. The detailed examination blueprint can be found at Blueprint — NBOME.

Competency domains assessed include application of osteopathic medical knowledge, osteopathic patient care, osteopathic principles and practice, communication skills, professionalism, and ethics. Competency assessment occurs in the context of clinical and patient presentations and systems-based practice as required for entry into the supervised practice of general osteopathic medicine and for readiness for lifelong learning and practice-based learning and improvement. The detailed examination blueprint can be found at https://www.nbome.org/exams-assessments/comlex-usa/comlex-usa-level-2-ce/.

CCM course aims to have each student review through self-study approach the high-yield COMLEX Level 2-CE topics of clinical disciplines including internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry, as well as clinical sciences emphasizing Osteopathic Principles and Practices, and Preventive care (Preventive Medicine, Nutrition, and Health Promotion) that had already been taught through the CHSU-COM's curriculum in the preclinical and clinical years. A maximum of 2.0 credit hours can be earned toward the degree. 

The Community or Underserved Medicine clerkship is a required 4-week clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with clinical experience in a non-profit or public community-based health care clinic located in a medically underserved area or that provides services to a medically underserved population. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., EME 2001 - Underserved: Emergency Medicine)

The clinical clerkship in a specialty or Sub-Specialty of medicine or surgery or pediatrics is a 4-week clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of a specific area of concentration not otherwise part of a traditional curriculum. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in either an ambulatory or inpatient setting. The curriculum content will be delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship. 

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., PSY 2072 - Specialty: Psychiatry)

The Medical Administration Clerkship is a 2 or 4-week elective clerkship offered to students in their 4th year designed to give students experience in working with CMOs of various hospitals. 

Five total elective clerkships are required, each 4 weeks in duration. 4 of the 5 Elective clerkships can be audition clerkships at the approval of Clinical Education. These clerkships are designed to provide the student with the opportunity to select a discipline and receive hands-on training through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., PSY 2092 - Elective: Psychiatry)

Five total elective clerkships are required, each 4 weeks in duration. 4 of the 5 Elective clerkships can be audition clerkships at the approval of Clinical Education. These clerkships are designed to provide the student with the opportunity to select a discipline and receive hands-on training through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., PSY 2093 - Elective: Psychiatry)

Five total elective clerkships are required, each 4 weeks in duration. 4 of the 5 Elective clerkships can be audition clerkships at the approval of Clinical Education. These clerkships are designed to provide the student with the opportunity to select a discipline and receive hands-on training through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., PSY 2094 - Elective: Psychiatry)

Five total elective clerkships are required, each 4 weeks in duration. 4 of the 5 Elective clerkships can be audition clerkships at the approval of Clinical Education. These clerkships are designed to provide the student with the opportunity to select a discipline and receive hands-on training through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., PSY 2095 - Elective: Psychiatry)

Five total elective clerkships are required, each 4 weeks in duration. 4 of the 5 Elective clerkships can be audition clerkships at the approval of Clinical Education. These clerkships are designed to provide the student with the opportunity to select a discipline and receive hands-on training through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The prefix COM is replaced by the specialty or sub-specialty rotation completed, (ex., PSY 2096 - Elective: Psychiatry)

The elective Research clerkship is a 4-week course. The purpose of the Research elective is to provide meaningful research experiences for medical students, with the expectation that students will gain initial experience and interest in research that will carry over into the practice of medicine. The goals of the Research Selective are to provide students an opportunity to participation an ongoing research project, to create a greater appreciation for clinical, basic science, or medical education research, and to introduce future physicians to good research practices.

This clerkship is designed to provide students with an additional opportunity to prepare for COMLEX Level 1, Level 2CE, or Level 2PE. The student will submit a board study plan and timeline for their curriculum of study for approval. During the clerkship, students access the learning website to review Evidence-Based Practice learning modules. This elective must be approved by the Office of Clinical Education and is intended for students who are identified as at-risk or have previously failed a COMLEX exam who may need additional preparation and review time.

The International Public Health Clerkship is a 4-week elective clerkship offered to students in their 4th year designed to give students clinical experience in patient care in another country. The foundation of the clerkship’s curriculum is built upon gaining an understanding of travel medicine, public health, cultural competency, and the most common clinical presentations of the region being visited. The student will be provided the opportunity to perform history and physical examinations, develop the skills of appropriate documentation, and they will develop skills for diagnosis and treatment necessary in low resource areas. Familiarity and skill level with the local language depend on the specific requirements of the clinical site.

This 1 week fourth year elective provides the learner an opportunity to explore and practice different modalities for maintaining wellness as a practicing physician.

Physician burnout and lack of wellness are known struggles for physicians, especially in a post-pandemic health care world. It is more important than ever for physicians to have a habit of self-care practices that can help lead to overall wellness.

Through this course, students will become familiar with various different modalities for wellness through practice and exploration. They will subsequently discover what wellness activities they wish to incorporate in their own lives and which they may consider including in their treatment plans and patient recommendations.

The Clinical Skills Facilitation and Leadership elective allows OMS-IV students to build additional competencies and strengthen their clinical skills facilitation and leadership. Requirements may be met over 1 week (1 credit hour) or 2 weeks (2 credit hours). This course can be completed in 2 weeks consecutively or 1 week non-consecutively for a maximum of 2 weeks / 2.0 credit hours earned. 

Students requesting to complete this elective must receive pre-approval from the Course Director, contact their Clinical Affairs Coordinator to register for the course, and schedule the course in CORE ELMS.

The clinical clerkship in Emergency Medicine is a required 4-week clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of emergency medicine through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and inpatient settings. The curriculum content will be delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship.

The clinical clerkship in either Family Medicine. General IM, or Pediatrics is a required 4-week Core clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of Primary Care through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and/or inpatient settings. The curriculum content is delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship.

The clinical clerkship in either Family Medicine. General IM, or Pediatrics is a required 4-week Core clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of Primary Care through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and/or inpatient settings. The curriculum content is delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship.

The ECG Academy® Learning System is offered as a two- or four-week distance learning course for OMS-IV students. Students will elect to enroll in an ECG skills course customized for attending physicians, medical residents, and cardiology/EP fellows. The online educational experience provides targeted lesson plans and coaching sessions for students to complete at their own pace. Students will gain proficiency in reading and interpreting both simple and complex cardiac rhythm strips and have the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge and skills they have acquired. The purpose of the course is to help students gain confidence in the ECG prior to or in conjunction with their clinical rotations, particularly in Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine (IM), and IM subspecialties. The goal of the course is to attain a resident-physician level of proficiency in understanding engineering concepts, ECG recording and lead basics, and interpreting various pathologies, including: mechanisms of arrhythmias, advanced conduction system concepts, wide QRS complex tachycardias, advanced atrial arrhythmias, pre-excitation (Wolff Parkinson White) syndromes, distinguishing paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) mechanisms, congenital arrhythmia syndromes, and pacemaker troubleshooting.

PsychiatryOnline Premium allows Access to five peer-reviewed eJournals, the DSM Library, the Psychotherapy Library of eBooks, APA Guidelines, Patient Education, Podcasts, and more.  For this elective, the DSM-5-TR® Clinical Cases [found in the drop-down DSM Library] offers 19 chapters exploring patient vignettes in each diagnostic category. 

This course is an introduction to medical humanities, an interdisciplinary field that engages critically with various aspects of health care, such as the concepts, practices, values, and experiences of patients and clinicians. Topics may include how medical practice has changed over time; our ideas of health, illness, disease, pain, and suffering; the role of stories in clinical care and patient experiences; aging and dying; and what doctors may know about religion and spirituality. Students will increase their understanding of how medicine, health, and illness are portrayed in fiction, poetry, memoirs, and movies and learn to closely read those texts. Students will be invited to think, read, reflect, and share their reflections across genres and learn to use narrative accounts and concepts from the humanities to expand our understanding of how biosocial, medical, and ethical realities actively shape each other.

The Wikipedia: WikiProject Medicine is an online elective course. The goal is to select and improve important medical topics and develop them to a high level of quality. In 2013, Dr. Amin Azzam, MD, Adjunct Professor at UCSF School of Medicine, founded the WikiMedicine Project and has since worked with medical students from such institutions as UCSF, University of Central Florida, and Vanderbilt to offer immersion elective rotations for fourth-year medical students to receive academic credit for editing Wikipedia. In this WikiProject Medicine elective course, students will gain insight into the value of Wikipedia as a viable reference and build the skills and knowledge needed to evaluate articles on Wikipedia for yourself or your colleagues, with a specific focus on health and medical topics.  Students also learn skills that help them detect the quality of information on the site.  

This course helps equip students with advanced skills in six essential areas crucial for delivering high quality patient-centered care. By course completion, students will achieve a greater understanding of the following topics: health literacy (7 modules), cultural humility (5 modules), LGBTQ+ affirming care (4 modules), social determinants of health (5 modules), motivational interviewing (8 modules), and/or shared decision-making (3 modules).

Students will begin by learning about the profound impact of health literacy on patients' well-being and honing effective communication skills. They will work to master the art of conveying complex medical information in a patient-friendly manner. The course then emphasizes the significance of cultural humility, instilling lifelong learning and self-awareness to enhance sensitivity to diverse cultural backgrounds, ultimately leading to more effective care provision.

Next, students will acquire the competencies to provide affirming and supportive care to LGBTQ+ patients while respecting their unique healthcare needs. Understanding the critical role of social determinants of health will follow this, as students explore how these determinants influence patient engagement and access to care. This module will help students gain a better understanding to address barriers that hinder healthcare access and participation among underserved populations.

The course continues with an in-depth exploration of motivational interviewing techniques and their application within the transtheoretical model. Students learn to assist patients in initiating and sustaining health behavior change through effective communication.

In the final module, students work to increase their experience with the fundamentals of shared decision-making, which enables patients to actively participate in healthcare decisions. This empowers them to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.

The Fundamentals of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) elective is a self-directed online learning course comprised of EBM exercises and reflection activities.

The Osteopathic Principles and Practice (OPP) elective allows OMS-IV students additional opportunities to study and practice osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) in a variety of teaching, clinical, and research settings through active participation alongside OPP Department Scholars and faculty. They will also gain confidence and mentorship experience assisting in the instruction of small and large groups during OPP curricular activities.

Students requesting to complete this elective must receive pre-approval from one of the Co-Course Directors, contact their assigned Clinical Affairs Coordinator to register for the course.

The clinical clerkship in either Family Medicine. General IM, or Pediatrics is a required 4-week Core clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of Primary Care through the integration of didactic knowledge and clinical experiences. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in both ambulatory and/or inpatient settings. The curriculum content is delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship.

The clinical clerkship in a specialty or Sub-Specialty of medicine or surgery or pediatrics is a 4-week clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of a specific area of concentration not otherwise part of a traditional curriculum. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in either an ambulatory or inpatient setting. The curriculum content will be delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship.

Students will gain the requisite communication and deportment skills to effectively succeed in a career as a physician. The core principles of deportment, inter-professional communication and critical appraisal will be reviewed and emphasized. At the end of the course, the student will understand the concepts of closed loop communication, self-reflection, and deadline planning as they pertain to careers in medicine. System and educational paradigm models will be employed as case studies in effective strategy planning and deployment of their Graduate Medical Education transition readiness. 

These courses are designed to provide the student with expanded knowledge of osteopathic medicine. They build upon the foundation understating of course (preceding-OMS II spring OPP course) and emphasizes an advanced functional anatomic and physiologic understanding and application of osteopathic principles and practices. These courses help the student solidify osteopathic knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities; to provide integrated osteopathic diagnosis and osteopathic manipulative medical care to their future patients. The application of these principles and practices is emphasized through the model of mentorship and teaching. Students participating in these courses will further interact with peers, near-peers, and clinical faculty. These courses are completed over a three-year period and incorporated into the third- and fourth-year clinical education, adding a fifth year to the student's osteopathic medicine doctoral program. This series of courses vary in length to accommodate the scheduling of required third- and fourth- year osteopathic curriculum. The courses are scheduled in 16 week blocks in conjunction with required OMS clinical training curriculum. A total of 48 collective credit hours in the three courses is required.

Continuation of SCH 1900 and builds on prior OPP course material. 

Continuation of SCH 2000 and builds on prior OPP course material.

The clinical clerkship in a specialty or Sub-Specialty of medicine or surgery or pediatrics is a 4-week clerkship. This clerkship is designed to provide the student with an understanding of a specific area of concentration not otherwise part of a traditional curriculum. Students will receive exposure to a diverse community of patients in either an ambulatory or inpatient setting. The curriculum content will be delivered to students via the learning management system web site. During the clerkship, students will access the learning website to review learning modules on topics appropriate for a fourth-year clerkship.