518 Scaife Hall

412-648-9891

http://www.medadmissions.pitt.edu/

admissions@medschool.pitt.edu

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine prepares students to become excellent and caring physicians, skilled at maintaining their scientific knowledge in a rapidly expanding field. The goal of the four-year program is the education of scholarly physicians. This goal is achieved by emphasizing the centrality of the patient as the focus of health care throughout the curriculum. A firm understanding of the sciences basic to medicine and the application of principles of biomedical problem solving to the care of patients are taught through lectures, small group sessions, laboratories, and independent studies. Students develop an understanding of ethical principles in medicine as applied to specific patient problems, as well as learning about health care systems. Self-education is emphasized through problem-based, self-directed learning, computer-assisted education, and medical literature review, all critical to the life-long learning process, which is one of the hallmarks of an outstanding physician. All students participate in a longitudinal, mentored scholarly project in an area of interest to the student. In addition, some students may choose to pursue a career in academic medicine through participation in the five-year physician-scientist training program or clinical scientist training program, or alternatively the MD/PhD program of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Further possibilities include secondary degrees in the school of public health, business school, or law school.