Curricular Themes

Our curriculum emphasizes themes based on our institutional objectives, reflect required competencies for graduating medical students and represent institutional strengths of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine:

• Clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills: These skills are widely taught throughout the curriculum including formal teaching in the Practice of Medicine 1 & 2, Cases of the Week, Clinical Reasoning in Medicine, and in the Clerkships.
• Evidence-based medicine: the structure and teaching that support student understanding of the scientific and medical literature to include:
  1. Asking a searchable/answerable question
  2. Finding the best evidence; information search and recovery; informatics; use of technology and websites.
  3. Appraising the literature - Skills necessary to read and understand the science and medical literature - Biostatistics, research methods and study design, epidemiological principles
  4. Assessing the usefulness of discovered information to a patient case or population
  5. Applying the information to a patient case or population
  6. Discussing differing points of view with patients, families, and colleagues
  7. Evaluating the success of the suggested treatment for the patient
• Medical databases and Electronic Medical Record: Understand the delineations between basic science, translational, and clinical research
• Community and population health
  1. Epidemiology
  2. Wellness, illness and injury prevention
  3. Disease screening
  4. Advocacy and health policy
  5. Special populations – geriatrics, pediatrics, underserved areas, rural medicine, international, etc.
  6. Service learning
  7. Patient education
  8. Local, state, and global topics
  9. Health literacy
  10. Optional SOC and Las Vegas Clinic for Underserved experience
• Humanistic medicine
  1. BPSS model – whole person practice/patient-centered care
  2. Professionalism
  3. Clinical ethics and ethical principles
  4. Narrative medicine
  5. Spirituality and medicine
  6. End of life care
  7. Palliative care
  8. Proper treatment of pain
  9. Shared decision making
  10. Development of a professional identity as a physician through leadership opportunities, service to others, etc.
• Social and behavioral medicine
  1. Human development and the life cycle
  2. Behavioral health and management of behavioral change
  3. Safety and violence: child, elder, partner, physical, sexual abuse and neglect
  4. Patient Adherence
  5. Medical error and jurisprudence
  6. Health determinants and socio-economic status
  7. Cultural competency and sensitivity
  8. Effects of stress
• Nutrition
• Genetics
• Diagnostics
  1. Laboratory medicine
  2. Radiology/imaging