Block Description
Introduction to Medicine is a two-week Block for incoming first-year medical students at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. Designed to introduce students to the profession of Medicine and to the College of Medicine – Phoenix, the block ends with the White Coat Ceremony.
Learning Objectives
Educational Program Objectives are a subset of more broadly defined physician competencies, which represent general domains of performance for which the profession and the public hold physicians accountable.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix (COM-P) measures these outcomes both quantitatively (via USMLE style assessments) and qualitatively (via behavioral competency assessments).
Upon completing the Introduction to Medicine Block, students should be able to:
- Explain how foundational curriculum content integrates to prepare learners for study across the basic and clinical sciences.
- Apply foundational clinical reasoning skills to interpret simulated patient data, reason deductively through provisional diagnoses, and collaborate effectively in team-based clinical exercises.
- Evaluate how institutional systems, policies, workflows, and support structures influence learner performance and professional development, and apply strategies to navigate and engage these systems effectively.
- Demonstrate clear, respectful, and collaborative communication and effective teamwork in academic and simulated clinical learning environments.
- Demonstrate professional responsibility, integrity, ethical reasoning, and accountability in academic and simulated clinical environments, including thoughtful consideration of social and ethical dimensions of patient care.
- Appraise personal learning needs, critically evaluate the quality and relevance of educational resources, and apply evidence-informed strategies to improve performance in simulated patient care exercises.