The clinical core curriculum begins during the third year of medical school in early June. It starts with a four-week sequence of introductory courses (3 weeks introduction to clinical clerkships and one week introduction to anesthesiology) to prepare the students for the clinical curriculum that follows immediately thereafter. The Introductory Clinical Clerkship covers clinical thinking, specific skills (such as EKG interpretation, venipuncture, laboratory medicine, intravenous fluid management, etc.), and approach to the principal clinical syndromes. In addition, students work-up and present patients to a preceptor who supervises their work. This is followed by one-week introduction to the fundamental principles of anesthesiology with special emphasis on the ventilatory and circulatory systems.

The core clinical rotations begin in July of third year and are completed during the fourth year of medical school. These consist of 56 weeks of clerkships lasting from 2 to 12 weeks each in all the major clinical fields, including internal medicine, primary care, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and general surgery and surgical specialties. These are complemented by short courses in Public Health (health care systems), anesthesiology, and the third installment of Medicine, Patients and Society (which provides experiences in clinical ethics, competency in end-of-life patient care, and teaches approaches to dealing with medical errors).

Students completing this clinical core curriculum are sufficiently acquainted with the various clinical specialties to identify their primary areas of interest. Accordingly, they are prepared to plan an educational program of supplementary electives that is best suited to their interests.

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