Curriculum

The four-year MD Program at Queen’s University is currently structured in sequential terms which will allow students to progress from scientific foundational knowledge through to clinical foundations of the human systems and finally, in clinical engagement during a two-year clinical rotation series; including electives for students to explore areas of interest.

The pre-clerkship experience comprises the first two years at Queen’s and is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed for clinical experiences in clerkship and in residency through an in-person curriculum. The curriculum is designed to combine teaching foundational basic science knowledge and principles of physician roles, along with clinical teaching, both in the classroom and in clinical skills. In addition to attending large-group classroom-based sessions, students will work closely with tutors in small groups and will learn in a variety of settings, including laboratories, clinical skills centers, the simulation laboratory, and hospital and community settings. At the end of the first year, students participate in Community Week in regional sites in Ontario, where they work with family physicians and other health professionals.

Please note that although the MD program is based at the Kingston campus, the clerkship portion of the MD program component is delivered in a regional format, with all students spending one-third to three-quarters of their clerkship outside of Kingston. The clerkship experience at Queen’s provides students with a wide breadth of clinical experiences to prepare them for future practice. Encompassing the final two years of medical school training, it is a blend of clinical rotations in core disciplines, classroom-based consolidation experiences, and elective opportunities. Students can engage in either block-based clinical rotations or integrated clinical experiences, which are anchored in Family Medicine and combine clinical opportunities from a variety of disciplines.

Fall term

Course	Duration
Human Structure and Function 1	6 weeks
Human Structure and Function 2	8 weeks
Critical Appraisal, Research and Lifelong Learning	14 weeks
Introduction to Physician Roles 1A	14 weeks
Clinical & Communication Skills 1A	14 weeks
Family Medicine	14 weeks
Population Health	14 weeks

Winter term

Course	Duration
Introduction to Physician Roles 1B	17 weeks
Clinical & Communication Skills 1B	17 weeks
Health Determinants	17 weeks
Mechanisms of Disease	8 weeks
Fundamentals of Therapeutics	8 weeks
Blood and Coagulation	8 weeks
Pediatrics and Genetics	10 weeks
Principles of Genetics, Oncology and Palliative Care	10 weeks
Musculoskeletal	10 weeks

Fall term

Course	Duration
Cardiorespiratory Medicine 1	5 weeks
Cardiorespiratory Medicine 2	5 weeks
Endocrine and Renal	5 weeks
Critical Enquiry 2A	16 weeks
Integration of Physician Roles 2A	16 weeks
Clinical & Communication Skills 2A	16 weeks

Winter term

Course	Duration
Critical Enquiry 2B	14 weeks
Integration of Physician Roles 2B	21 Weeks
Clinical & Communication Skills 2B	19 weeks
Genitourinary and Reproduction	4 weeks
Gastroenterology and Surgery	4 weeks
Skin and Special Senses	3 weeks
Neurosciences	8 weeks
Psychiatry	8 weeks

Course	Duration	Course	Duration
Section A (Emerg, Anaesth, Peds, OBGyn/L&D, subspec med)	14 weeks	Electives	16 weeks
Section B (Surgery, Med CTU, Psych)	14 weeks	Curricular Units (C1 - C4)	8 weeks
Section C (Community)	14 weeks	Transition to Residency	12 weeks

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Call to Action #24

We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Indigenous health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

This Call to Action requires ongoing response and commitment.

Given the nature of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours to be shared with our medical learners, rather than create a single, stand-alone course (which could serve to silo this content in a single place in our curriculum), Queen’s MD Program has addressed this call by creating a cross-curricular integrated thread. As such, Queen’s Medical students receive initial foundational instruction in Year 1 courses MEDS 113 Introduction to Physician Roles, MEDS 117 Heath Determinants, and MEDS 123 Population Health (including instruction of the history and legacy of residential schools, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices, including intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism) which includes both instruction and mandatory assessment. This curriculum includes presentations and panels by local Indigenous Community members. This foundational instruction is expanded upon in Year 2 integrated throughout in Clinical Foundations and Clinical and Communication Skills courses (all of which have been assigned the new MCC Presentation 78-9 Indigenous Health as a learning objective) and is continued throughout the clinical Clerkship of Years 3 and 4.

It is important to note that this integration is a work-in-progress as we continue to evaluate and map our curriculum, finalize a gap analysis, and augment our current content.

Click here to view a sample Curriculum Map for Kingston MD Program

Year 1

Fall term

Winter term

Year 2

Fall term

Winter term

Year 3 & 4*