Undergraduate Medical Education

Faculty of Medicine

Med 1 (Pre‑clerkship)

Student experience:
Early clinical electives


Our medical students benefit from early clinical exposure. Find out what it's like to be in a clinical environment within the first few days of medical school.

 

Learn the basics of medicine and patient care

This is your foundation year. In Med 1, the curriculum is divided into four units: Foundations I; Host Defense; Metabolism and Homeostasis I; and Human Development. Running across Med 1 and Med 2 are the Professional Competencies, Research in Medicine and Skilled Clinician units.

Read a detailed explanation of each unit on our units page.

A typical week [PDF - 363 kB]  and typical week with Monday holiday [PDF - 344 kB] in your first year includes:

  • tutorial group meeting for 2-3 hours, two times a week
  • 3-5 hours of lectures
  • a patient contact experience for 3-4 hours, emphasizing patient-doctor relationships
  • a 1/2 day for Research in Medicine
  • a 1/2 day of electives in second semester
  • a 3-hour laboratory related to the cases under study

Case-based learning in pre-clerkship

The unit objectives in Med 1 place an emphasis on uncovering issues in particular cases, and understanding "why" and "how" they occur. Cases are used to help you learn in a clinical context, and to help you apply the first steps of a clinical reasoning process.

In Med 2, cases will centre around "solving the mysteries" behind the cases, and then deciding on appropriate treatment plans.