Basic Science Curriculum at WUHS

At WUHS (Belize), the clinical portion of student training is conveniently close at hand. We have 3 major hubs between Denver, Atlanta, and Chicago area.

Clinical Training Hospitals

1. A 300-bed facility, a major center for heart and lung transplantation.
2. A 152-bed specialty hospital, it is one of the world’s premier neurological treatment centers.
3. A 983-bed facility has a large patient base. U.S. News & World Report has ranked “America’s Best Hospitals” for 18 consecutive years.
4. A private, nonprofit institution, Children’s deals exclusively with children from birth to age 18. It has more than 400 beds and houses more than 50 specialty clinics. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Children’s among the top hospitals nationwide in pediatric care.

We offer all core and elective rotations at our affiliated teaching hospitals most of which has ACGME approved residency programs. We also offer rotations in Europe, Asia and North America.

Clinical Training and USMLE Progression

USMLE STEP 1

After completing your Advanced Introduction to Clinical Medicine (MD5 Semester), and prior to beginning your clinical clerkships, you will take Step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

Semesters 6 – 11 (US Clinicals)

After passing the USMLE Step 1, students are eligible to enter clinical clerkships, in rotation, in specific fields. There are 48 weeks of required clinical core clerkships and 28 weeks of electives.
The required core clerkships are:

• Medicine – 12 weeks
• Obstetrics/Gynecology – 6 weeks
• Pediatrics – 6 weeks
• Psychiatry – 6 weeks
• Surgery – 12 weeks
• Family Medicine – 6 weeks

Electives

The 28 additional weeks are spent in elective clerkships; these must include eight additional weeks of Medicine, which may be spent in general medicine or in medical subspecialties, and four additional weeks of surgery, which may be spent in general surgery or in surgical subspecialties.

USMLE STEP 2

After completing the 48 weeks of required clerkships, you will take the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills and Clinical Knowledge.