Preclerkship Phase

In the longitudinal Becoming a Physician course, staffed by faculty members from the Einstein Learning Communities Program, students begin to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for effective interaction with patients and the healthcare system. During this course, students take part in clinical experiences and small-group, hands on training sessions to develop history-taking, interviewing, and basic physical examination skills. Our instructors nurture attitudes needed for respectful and compassionate interaction with patients and their families and help students feel comfortable interviewing, examining, and counseling patients from diverse backgrounds.

During the preclerkship phase, students also have opportunities to take elective courses in Medical Spanish; Medical Mandarin; Current Topics in Biochemistry, Genetics, Pathology, and Pharmacology; and Nutrition and Health.

Einstein is committed to providing an elective offering for Einstein students in conversational Spanish to better meet the healthcare needs of the large and growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Students begin language classes in the first year of the M.D. curriculum and continue to practice and expand language-building skills throughout the second year of medical school. Classes are offered at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. In the summer between the first and second years of medical school, students are eligible to apply for funding to participate in Spanish-language programs in Central America and Mexico.

To meet the healthcare needs of the large and ever-increasing Mandarin-speaking population in the Bronx community and at several of Einstein’s clinical sites, Einstein offers a one-semester elective in Medical Mandarin. Students who take this course must have at least a conversational knowledge of Mandarin, since the 19-session course involves immediate immersion in medical terminology and interviewing techniques.

In this student-directed independent learning course, Current Topics in Biochemistry, Genetics, Pathology, and Pharmacology, students pursue topics of interest, share findings with, and receive feedback from peers and selected faculty. It is possible to explore individualized topics of interest during this elective—for example, precision medicine, drug development, cancer immunotherapy, the human-microbiome ecosystem in health and disease, and epigenetics.

The Nutrition and Health elective provides students with an understanding of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s dietary guidelines, how to assess nutrition in patients, and the effectiveness of popular diets. Other topics include the integration of motivational interviewing into physician–patient discussions of nutrition and lifestyle issues and discussing nutritional labeling on packaged foods with patients who have limited English-language literacy.

In the summer between the first and second years of medical school, students have time to participate in research, global health, community engagement, or other professional development opportunities through funding from Einstein’s Scholarly Impact and Research Program and Global Health Center, as well as external grants. Nearly two-thirds of all students receive fellowship funding to participate in summer scholarship during this phase of the M.D. curriculum.

Upon completing the preclerkship curriculum, all students take Step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), a three-part exam required for medical licensure, also known as “the boards.” USMLE Step 1 comprises a series of questions and problem-solving tasks that assess your ability to apply science fundamentals to the practice of medicine.

To prepare students for the USMLE Step 1, all Einstein M.D. students receive a lifetime subscription to UWorld USMLE Prep Questions and free library access to Boards & Beyond, a popular resource that helps students prepare for the USMLE. Instructors at Einstein incorporate USMLE Step 1 questions into examinations throughout the curriculum using the National Board of Medical Examiner (NBME) Customized Assessment Service so that our students get experience with the types of questions that appear on the exam. Students also take the NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Subject Exam at the end of the first and second year of medical school to become familiar with the USMLE Step 1 format and testing conditions.