Six Year B.A./M.D. Program
A medical student’s journey begins as soon as they enter the UMKC School of Medicine’s B.A./M.D. program. Immediate exposure to a curriculum that builds a strong foundation in medical science and clinical skills is integrated with the liberal arts and humanities into a year-round program. Our program allows students to choose an undergraduate major and earn their B.A. and M.D. in six years.
Our curriculum utilizes experiences with patients, peers and faculty in clinical settings that develop students who are passionate about medicine. Students learn the skills and attitudes for compassion, honesty and integrity which receive the same priority as scientific and technical skills, and lead to our nine areas of competency.
Effective communication is key to successful doctor patient relationships, and through immediate and ongoing patient interaction, our graduates learn to engage with patients, families and other members of the health care team.
Excellent clinical skills provide a foundation for the medical experiences a physician faces. Our students receive six years of outstanding clinical training that sets them apart from other medical school graduates.
Using basic science in the practice of medicine allows physicians to apply the knowledge, skills and concepts from all scientific perspectives to overall patient care. Through such courses as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and pathology, our students learn to recognize and explain various health care situations.
Our graduates gain the instinctive ability to diagnose, manage, prevent and provide continuing care for the health problems of individuals, families and the communities in which they live. Our students learn the tools for accurate diagnosis and opportunities for prevention, and they have the ability to work effectively with patients’ medical, social, emotional and economic needs to provide ongoing and exceptional health care.
The practice of medicine requires a passion for lifelong learning in medicine, the basic and social sciences, and the humanities. A physician must be aware of individual limits in personal knowledge and experience, and have an ongoing intellectual interest in general education and medical science. Our students are taught to set clear learning goals, to pursue them and to apply the knowledge gained from achieving those goals.
It is important for both medical students and graduates to have an acute sense of self-awareness, self-discipline and professional behavior. A physician must be able to recognize individual strengths and weaknesses; identify and address any personal, emotional and/or health-related challenges; and develop coping strategies to reduce the stress that can occur during medical training. Our students develop strategies to identify and maintain personal priorities while learning to express the values of medicine: altruism; respect and regard for others; compassion and empathy; honesty and integrity; and dependability, responsibility and accountability.
Competent physicians recognize the importance of diversity within heath care’s social and community contexts. Our students learn to appreciate non-biological factors –– socio-cultural, familial, economic, environmental and spiritual –– that influence different communities. Our graduates use this awareness to benefit patients and serve as better health advocates.
Moral reasoning and ethical judgment are key characteristics of an excellent physician. Our students learn to formulate, defend, and effectively carry out a course of action that takes into account moral and ethical complexities within health care. Our graduates have the ability to recognize individual patient value systems, while integrating moral reasoning and ethical judgment in the care of patients
without compromising their own ethical integrity.
The ability to solve problems is necessary in the everyday practice of medicine. Patient and physician interaction allows our students to evaluate a problem from multiple perspectives, and then identify an appropriate and rational solution to address it.