Medical Education

Curriculum
Block II - Year II

Overview

Block II emphasizes the application of basic biological and behavioral sciences to the understanding of human disease. Having studied the characteristics of normal function in their first year, Block II students build upon this foundation as they learn how a person malfunctions and adapts in the presence of disease. For example, the students learn how pathology alters normal physiology. As the students are studying the mechanisms and characteristics of human disease, they are also learning the related clinical skills of physical diagnosis and the ways in which individuals and society cope with illness and its outcomes.

Throughout the year, students gain skills for independent study and group learning. For example, fewer lectures are presented in Block II than in Block I, and students rely more on textbooks, journal articles, computer-aided instruction, and Web resources to supplement and reinforce their learning. Students master the skills of group learning and group problem solving as they work six to eight hours each week in small groups with a faculty member acting either as a teacher or a facilitator of group process.

Block II courses help organize the students’ learning.