CURRICULUM  |  MD Program 

The first phase of the medical program are house foundational courses covering the basic sciences, establishing a strong scientific understanding that transitions into an interdisciplinary organ-based systems approach. This phase of the curriculum is built on a framework of an active flipped classroom educational model that promotes an educational partnership between learner and faculty and ignites learner-to-learner interaction, and collaborative team-learning. This innovative approach to medical education ensures that students actively engage with the material, enhancing their understanding and retention of key concepts.

Utilizing active learning methods during foundational courses and an interdisciplinary organ-based systems approach allows students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical clinical scenarios, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as, building interpersonal communication and collaboration skills critical to the practice of medicine.

Students also participate in a parallel, longitudinal "doctoring" across the first phase of the program which emphasizes a humanistic approach to medical care and prepares students with the basic clinical skills expected of any excellent physician. Students are exposed early to both standardized and real patient experiences with focused clinical skills training and hands-on out-patient clinical experience in the newly developed hospitalist-based post-discharge outpatient clinic.

In the second phase of the medical program students enter into the core clinical curriculum and progress through several core clinical rotations that provide hands-on, robust in-patient, outpatient, and procedural experiences across the clinical disciplines. In addition, this phase of the curriculum is enhanced with stand-alone medical and surgical electives affording the learner early exposure to several sub-specialties to explore as they traverse and settle on a clinical specialty of choice before entering the fourth and last year of the medical program. The primary clinical training site for PHASE 2 is the Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center.

In the third and final phase of the medical program, students further develop advanced skills through acting internships and electives both at home and away locations to enhance their clinical skills and explore additional clinical interests and/or research. In addition, students participate in the Transition to Residency course, which aims to prepare students with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in their chosen residency program.

Embedded in the final phase of the medical program, students actively engage in the residency application process, in which they must carefully deliberate and select their preferred medical specialties, a decision that significantly shapes their personal and professional focus.