University of North Carolina School of Medicine

The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It offers a Doctor of Medicine degree along with combined Doctor of Medicine / Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Medicine / Master of Public Health degrees.

It is one of the top ranked medical schools in the country: the 2013 U.S. News & World Report ranks the school 1st in primary care and 22nd in research. In 2007, the school received $298 million in research funding, with approximately two-thirds coming from the National Institutes of Health.

As of Fall 2014, UNC School of Medicine is changing its curriculum from the traditional setup below to the "Translational Education at Carolina" (TEC) Curriculum, which will entail a slightly shortened and entirely organ-system-based preclinical foundation before beginning clinical rotations.

The first year curriculum consists of four blocks covering the basic medical sciences. Each block combines daily lectures by faculty from diverse fields, and therefore provides a highly integrated curriculum. The first block, titled Molecules to Cells, includes Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Genetics. The second, Structure and Development, is primarily an Anatomy course (including human cadaver dissection), but also covers Embryology (the "source" of anatomy) and basic Radiology (a clinically important application of anatomic knowledge). The third block is Integrative Function and its Cellular Basis, which is a multisystem Physiology and Histology course which also revisits Cellular and Molecular Biology. This allows students to gain a better understanding of how the microscopic structure of a tissue affects its physiologic function. The final block, Host Defense and Microbial Pathogens, covers Microbiology, Virology, and Immunology. In addition to the four core blocks, students have weekly Medicine and Society small groups, where they discuss the role and effects of health care in our society. They also apply their fledgling medical knowledge through occasional case study small groups, called the Clinical Applications Course or "CAC." First-year students learn basic physical exam skills via the weekly Introduction to Clinical Medicine small groups, and shadow physicians throughout North Carolina during two "Community Weeks." In between first and second year, many students conduct clinical or medical science research at UNC or at other institutions, or travel with UNC physicians to clinics in South America, Africa and Asia.

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