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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
MD Education Program

Fundamentals of Health and Disease (6 weeks)

The Fundamentals of Health and Disease course advances student knowledge of physiological, pathophysiological and pharmacological principals to enable them to describe maintenance of normal physiologic functions and discuss disease states and drug treatments in terms of altered cellular and tissue function.

Course Objectives

The following course objectives align with the IU School of Medicine MD Curriculum Competencies and Institutional Learning Objectives. This alignment enables faculty and students to understand how current student learning prepares them for the next stage in training and for their ongoing practice and maintenance of certification.

Explain the fundamental physiological functions of the cardiovascular, pulmonary and renal systems and explain their roles in contributing to homeostasis of the body, including neurohumoral control mechanisms.

Describe how the physical environment influences health and disease.

Explain fundamental mechanisms of cellular and tissue responses to injury and disease.

Explain the general pathophysiology of neoplastic tumors, including the progression of tumor growth, clinical consequences, and the mode of action of representative antineoplastic therapies.

Describe basic pharmacokinetic principles of drug absorption, distribution, biotransformation and excretion and utilize this knowledge to explain pharmacodynamic actions, and interactions of commonly prescribed drugs.

Given a specific disease state, explain how alterations of tissue structure and function contribute to the clinical consequences of the disease and describe appropriate therapeutic approaches.

Identify gaps in personal knowledge when presented with new clinical scenarios and integrate basic science principles to explain and interpret the clinical features of the case.

Given a clinical problem, generate a personal learning objective to address a gap in knowledge, use multiple resources to address the question, and use principles of evidence-based medicine to assess the quality of resources and interpret the information.

Modify communications demonstrating sensitivity to differences, values, and needs of others, with attention to one’s personal communication style and the context and purpose of the conversation or presentation.

Share information accurately in academic and clinical settings both in oral presentations and written documentation including in the medical record.