Medicine (M.D. Program)

Academic Recommendations for Admission

Although the Wayne State University School of Medicine prefers that applicants for admission have earned a bachelor’s degree, it will occasionally consider students of unusual academic attainment and maturity who have completed three years of college.

Required subjects for baccalaureate preparation are:

general physics with laboratory, one year;
inorganic and organic chemistry with laboratory, one year each;
general biology or zoology with laboratory.

Additionally, starting with students admitted for the 2014-2015 academic year, it is strongly recommended that students take a course in statistics, ethics, and biochemistry. The student is urged to select additional subjects which will contribute substantially to a broad cultural background.

It is to be noted that when students are accepted before completion of their premedical requirements, they must maintain a satisfactory scholastic average in their continued premedical work to warrant enrollment in the School of Medicine.

The Medical College Admission Test is required of all applicants for admission into the first year class. Students seeking admission into the August freshman class should take this test no later than September of the previous year. After a preliminary review of application credentials, interviews are held with those applicants who warrant further consideration.

Admission to the First-Year Class

The School of Medicine adheres to the acceptance procedures of the Association of American Medical Colleges, including the ‘Early Decision Plan.’ Admission procedures of the School are:

No place in the first-year class shall be offered to an applicant more than one year before the actual start of instruction for that class.
Following the receipt of an offer of a place in the first-year class, a student shall be allowed three weeks in which to make a written reply.
No student who has at any time been requested to withdraw for any reason from a medical school in which he/she has been registered will be accepted by the WSU School of Medicine. Students who have been dropped for poor scholarship by the School of Medicine should not expect favorable consideration for readmission.
Any applicant accepted by the School of Medicine who does not complete enrollment must apply for readmission and meet all requirements in force at the time of such new application.

Admission with Advanced Standing

Students from approved L.C.M.E. American medical schools may be admitted with advanced standing to the third year only, subject to the number of vacancies which may exist in the second and third years. Application for advanced standing should be made not later than July 15. The following requirements must be met:

An applicant must have matriculated as a student in an approved United States or Canadian medical school for a period of time equal to that spent by the class in which he/she seeks entrance and must have completed courses equivalent to those required of that class.
The applicant must file a completed application form and must present official transcripts from each school attended showing that he/she meets, in full, the entrance requirements for admission to this school.
The applicant must be a student in good standing at the medical school from which he/she is withdrawing. A letter of support from the dean of that school is required.
The applicant must take such examinations in the courses for which he/she seeks credit as may be required by the faculty of the School of Medicine, such as the USMLE Step 1 examination.

Diversity and Integrated Student Services

Director: DeAndrea Wiggins

This unit supports the medical school to maintain its representation of diversity across economic, personal and social dimensions. This is accomplished through pipeline outreach programs and special projects that present a combination of academic and extracurricular activities designed to inform high school, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students about career opportunities in medicine and other health professions, and prepare them to gain admission.

A special program feature of the unit is the Post Baccalaureate Program. This medical school preparatory program offers an opportunity to a small number of applicants who are Michigan residents, and whose undergraduate academic achievement has been compromised by certain disadvantaging factors to gain admission into medical school. Successful completion of this special one year program facilitates entry into medical school for those selected applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Registration Requirements

Physical Examination

Freshman medical students are sent a physical form with registration materials. Each student must present proof of a physical examination at or before registration for the freshman year. Students are also required to be annually tested for TB (skin test or chest x-ray).

Health Insurance

Health insurance is mandatory and students must demonstrate proof of insurance at registration. Students have the option of purchasing the group plan offered by the Medical School, which can be purchased at registration.

Disability Insurance is mandatory and can be purchased at registration.

Criminal Background Check: All accepted applicants to the medical school will be required to complete a criminal background check through AMCAS and Certiphi, the selected vendor for criminal background checks.

Transcripts

Transcripts of all university-level work must be on file in the Registrar’s Office for each medical student, including the degree statement from the university from which the student obtained his/her degree.

Financial Aid

The primary responsibility for financing a medical education rests with the student and his or her family. However, assistance is available to students who demonstrate financial need and meet all other eligibility criteria. Students anticipating the need for financial assistance during their medical education should begin researching their options as early as possible.

Students wishing to be considered for financial assistance must begin by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Although medical students are automatically considered independent for the purposes of completing the FAFSA, parental data is required if a student wishes to be considered for institutional aid programs. The School of Medicine’s priority filing deadline is March 1st of each year. Students interested in attending the WSU School of Medicine should complete the application process by the priority date even if their admission has not yet been confirmed. Complete application instructions and other required documents are available on the School of Medicine website.

For students who qualify, financial aid is available in the form of loans, grants, scholarships and/or work-study, from federal, state, institutional and/or private sources. Offers of assistance are made to students after they have fulfilled all financial aid requirements and have been admitted to the School of Medicine.

The Admissions Office awards renewable full and partial tuition scholarships to a number of incoming freshmen per year in the amount of resident tuition. Partial tuition Board of Governors grants are awarded each year based on family financial need. Restricted private donor and private organization funds are awarded to students who demonstrate financial and merit-based criteria and meet the guidelines specified by the donor. Student loans are available through U.S. and Canadian government loan programs and credit-based private educational loan programs. Credit-based private educational loan programs generally require that non-U.S. students provide a credit worthy U.S. co-signer.

Service obligation programs are available to students who are willing to fulfill a commitment of ‘service’ to the organization providing the funding. Most programs require one year of service for each year of funding. The Health Professions Scholarship Program offered by the Army, Navy and Air Force requires payback as a military medical officer. The U.S. Public Heath Service offers the National Health Service Corps scholarship to medical students who commit to practicing primary care medicine in federally designated physician shortage areas for their service payback.

Students may wish to pursue outside sources of aid through community foundations, clubs, churches, employers, hospitals, or other nonprofit agencies. Web-based scholarship searches are available at no cost to the user. Students should avoid using fee-based scholarship search services and be wary of scholarship scams.

Academic Program

The Office of Undergraduate Medical Education is responsible for the overall management, administration, and supervision of the undergraduate medical curriculum. The undergraduate program in medicine consists of a core curriculum in normal and abnormal human biology followed by clerkships in clinical medicine and a year of required and elective experiences.

In the first year, through concentrated study of anatomy, histology, embryology, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics, students learn about the normal structure and function of the human body. In addition, there are units of study devoted to the neurosciences, translational medicine and to an introduction to clinical medicine.

In the second year, through concentrated study of pathology, immunology and microbiology, pharmacology, and psychiatry, students learn the basics of the effects of disease processes on structure and function, and the principles of drug action and therapy. This is followed by interdisciplinary organ system units of study devoted primarily to pathophysiology. Clinicians as well as basic scientists serve as lecturers. Additionally, students take a translational medicine course and through the clinical medicine II course, students receive training in preventive medicine, human values and ethics, physical diagnosis, clinical interviewing, human sexuality, laboratory medicine, and public health.

The third year curriculum consists of clerkships providing inpatient and outpatient clinical education and training in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology/obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, and family medicine, and an office-based continuity clerkship.

The fourth year is devoted to required and elective study and all students are required to take a subinternship in medicine, and a month of emergency medicine. Within certain guidelines (for example, five of the eight elective periods must be spent in hospitals with a major Wayne State University affiliation), students can select from over 150 electives in 23 disciplines. In addition to the many programs offered by Wayne University, students can take advantage of approved elective programs offered by other institutions.

Students must pass Step 1 of the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) in order to be promoted from Year II to Year III. Students must also pass Step 2 (both clinical knowledge and clinical skills) examinations in order to graduate.

Matriculation and Promotion

Primary evaluation of students is the responsibility of the faculty of the appropriate departments or courses for Year I-III students, and the Elective Course Coordinators for Year IV students.

Students are evaluated promptly by the primary evaluators, who make recommendations to the Promotions Committee which may include: promotion, re-examination, repetition of all or part of the year, interruption or suspension or probation of a student’s program, or dismissal. Questions of suitability for the study and practice of medicine on other than academic grounds are handled according to the University’s ‘Guidelines for Assisting Persons with Behavioral Problems.’

The Promotions Committee is chaired by the Vice Dean for Medical Education or his/her designee and consists of twelve members: four nominated from the faculty by the President of the Faculty Senate, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee; four nominated from the Council of Departmental Chairpersons; and four selected by and from the student body. Faculty members serve three-year terms. Student members serve for one year and have full discussion privileges. Their votes are advisory to the Committee.

At appropriate intervals, the Promotions Committee meets to make promotional decisions based upon the student’s academic performance. The Committee has the obligation to assure that the rules of the School and the rights of the individuals involved have been fairly met. Decisions are transmitted for the Committee by the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Programs. Students have the right to appeal such decisions by direct petition to the Promotions Committee. In the event of such an appeal, the Committee may gather evidence and hear witnesses. The student involved has the right to be heard by the Committee and may call a reasonable number of witnesses to testify in his/her behalf. The Promotions Committee is the final decision-making body with regard to the promotion process. The student has the right to request the Office of the Provost to review any determinations made by the Promotions Committee of the School of Medicine relative to academic performance on his/her part.

Leaves of Absence may be granted to students with documented health problems (medical leave of absence), or to those with appropriate educational opportunities outside the School (educational leave of absence), for personal reasons (personal leave of absence); or the medical school can put students on an administrative leave of absence.

Any students whose enrollment is continued by the Promotions Committee, or, in the case of Leaves of Absence, by the Vice Dean for Medical Education or his/her designee, is considered to be making academic progress toward the M.D. degree.

Grading

The grading system throughout all years of the School’s curriculum is:

‘H’ (Honors)
‘S’ (Satisfactory)
‘U’ (Unsatisfactory)
‘I’ (Incomplete)

The exception to this rule is Year 3 where an S+ (Satisfactory with commendations) can be achieved in all clerkships except the Continuity Clinic Clerkship. The minimum passing grade is 'S.' In order to be promoted from year to year, students must obtain 'S' on all course work and complete all requirements established by course directors.

Graduation Requirements

Students regularly registered in the School of Medicine may receive the degree Doctor of Medicine upon the fulfillment of the following requirements:

They must be at least 21 years of age, must exhibit good moral character, and must be suitable for the practice of medicine.
They must have satisfactorily completed all the academic requirements established by the School.
They must have paid all fees in full, and have all holds released.
They must pass Step 1 and pass Step 2 (clinical knowledge) and Step 2 (clinical skills) of National Board examinations.

M.D. Curriculum

Year 1

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required courses
MD1 5050	Advanced Learning Strategies for Physicians in Training	2
MD1 5051	Foundations of Normal Structure and Function	4
MD1 5052	Normal Structure and Function: Musculoskeletal, Skin, Peripheral Nervous & Cardiopulmonary Systems	5
MD1 5053	Block 3 Lab	2
MD1 5054	Normal Structure and Function of the Gastrointestinal and Urinary Systems	3
MD1 5055	Block 4 Lab	1
MD1 5056	Normal Structure and Function of the Reproductive, Endocrine, Blood, and Lymphatic Systems	3
MD1 5057	Block 5 Lab	1
MD1 5058	Normal Structure and Function of the Central Nervous System	3
MD1 5059	Block 6 Lab	2
MD1 5060	Clinical Skills Course I	5
MD1 5061	Clinical Skills Course II	3
MD1 5062	Population, Patient, Physician and Professionalism (P4)	9

Year 2

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required courses
MD2 6000	Immunology / Microbiology / Infectious Disease	10
MD2 6100	Pharmacology	5
MD2 6200	Psychiatry	3
MD2 6300	Pathobiology	5
MD2 6400	Pathophysiology	18
MD2 6500	Clinical Medicine II	7
MD2 6520	Translational Medicine II	2

Year 3

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Students must take eight required courses and one elective or vacation month. Students not taking the elective in Year 3 must complete an additional elective in Year 4.
MD3 7000	Continuity Clinical Clerkship	3
MD3 7100	Family Medicine Clerkship	4
MD3 7200	Internal Medicine Clerkship	8
MD3 7300	Pediatrics Clerkship	8
MD3 7400	Surgery Clerkship	8
MD3 7500	Psychiatry Clerkship	4
MD3 7600	Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship	8
MD3 7700	Neurology Clerkship	4

Year 4

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required Course:
MD4 8160	Emergency Medicine Subinternship
Required Sub-internship (choose 1 of 4 sub-internships below to fulfill the requirement):
MD4 8210	Family Medicine Subinternship
MD4 8470	Internal Medicine Subinternship
MD4 9210	Pediatric Subinternship
MD4 9490	Surgery Subinternship
Required MD4 Electives: six courses to be chosen from MD4 courses not taken to satisfy any of the above requirements.

Cooperative Electives Exchange Program

The Deans of the four Michigan medical schools, acting as the Michigan Medical Schools Liaison Committee, have signed cooperative agreements allowing students full credit for courses taken as electives at any one of the participating medical schools:

Wayne State University
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The Deans intend the program ‘to make the best use of one another’s resources to the greater advantage of the student and the Michigan community. By allowing medical students full academic credit for elective courses taken at any one of our respective medical schools, our students will be able to share productively in the learning and training opportunities of the entire State.’

Under the course exchange program, election of an ‘away course’ at one of the cooperating schools requires approval of both the parent and host institutions. Enrollment, matriculation and fee payments continue without alteration at the parent institution; however, students are responsible for all travel and living expenses incurred during the ‘away’ elective. Additional information can be obtained from Records and Registration, School of Medicine. Under the course exchange program, election of an ‘away course’ at one of the cooperating schools requires approval of both the parent and host institutions. Enrollment, matriculation and fee payments continue without alteration at the parent institution; however, students are responsible for all travel and living expenses incurred during the ‘away’ elective. Additional information can be obtained from Records and Registration in the School of Medicine.

MD Courses

Medical Doctor Courses - First Year (MD1)
Medical Doctor Courses - Second Year (MD2)
Medical Doctor Courses - Third Year (MD3)
Medical Doctor Courses - Fourth Year (MD4)

Medical Doctor Courses - First Year (MD1)

MD1 5050 Advanced Learning Strategies for Physicians in Training Cr. 2

Designed to provide students with knowledge, skills, and behaviors consistent with optimizing academic performance in the medical education learning environment. These include: using evidence-based programming designed to foster clinical/critical thinking skills, developing metacognitive awareness through exposure to and practice with highly effective learning techniques required for success in medical school, and assessing and providing feedback on information age competencies. Offered Yearly.