Fundamentals of Medicine

Catalogue Description: In this course, students will explore the fundamentals of medicine by learning about the human body starting with its smallest chemical elements and moving out in scope to people and their communities. These sessions will start exploring cellular components and structure as students move through basic sciences to understand energy, metabolism, genetics, pharmacology, and infectious disease with emphasis on how they relate to the homeostasis of the human body. Along this journey, students will integrate vital tenets of medicine including pathology, physiology, and public health. Students will develop skills of critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and incorporation of basic science into medical practice. Students will also develop a framework for health care systems and will explore their identity within these intersectional communities. The course also provides the necessary background to learn and appreciate the function of organ systems that will be explored in later courses.