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Extended time for career exploration and clinical experience
- Clinical clerkships begin in May of the second year, rather than in July. This provides two additional months of clinical experience and expanded opportunity to explore different career specialties.
New programs
- These include programs in humanities, professionalism, clinical preceptorships, basic science for careers, and the U.S. health care systems.
Many different learning styles
- Small groups of six students meet witha physician for 2-3 hours per week during the first two years in the Principle of Medicine courses.
- Course notes are prepared by faculty, not by a student note service.
- Clinical correlations areincluded in basic science courses
- Extensive web-based learning materials and self-quizzes are available
- Standardized patients assist students in learning interviewing and physicalexaminationskills.
- Time is provided for independent study.
Patient interaction beginning in the first weeks of medical school 
- Students interview patients in hospitals, offices, and nursing homes.
- Students work with individual doctors in a clinical preceptor program.
Integration of basic science principles and clinical practice
- Pathology, Pharmacology, and Practice of Medicine-2 are integrated in the second year by systems: pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, renal, neurological, infectious disease, and endocrinology.
- Case-basedinstruction is used extensivelyin small groupscourses led by physicians..
Inpatient and outpatient clinical experience in a variety of settings
- University of Virginia Hospital and Clinics, Charlottesville, Virginia
- Carilion Hospitals and Clinics, Roanoke, Virginia
- Veteran Administration Hospital and Clinics, Salem, Virginia.
- Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, Virginia
- Eight weeks in physician offices throughout Virginia
A balance of traditional and innovative organization of the curriculum
- Normal and abnormal conditions are taught simultaneously in the first year, with increasing emphasis on abnormal conditions in later years.
- Basic science and clinical applications are taught simultaneously in the first year, with increasing emphasis on clinical problem solving in later years.
- Organ system physiology and anatomy are correlated withthe physical examinations in the first year.
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