The School of Life · biology, medicine & health
Medicine & Clinical Sciences
How disease begins, how it is recognized, and how it is treated — the reasoning behind the bedside.
How normal body function goes wrong — the mechanisms that turn health into disease.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~34 hours
Unit I — Cell Injury and Response
Causes of cell injury · Reversible and irreversible damage · Inflammation and healing · Cell death
Unit II — Disorders of Defense and Blood
Immune dysfunction · The anemias · Clotting and bleeding disorders · Fluid and electrolyte imbalance
Unit III — Disorders of the Organ Systems
Heart failure and ischemia · Respiratory failure · Kidney disease · Endocrine disorders
Unit IV — Growth and Aging
Neoplasia and cancer biology · Pain mechanisms · Shock · Aging and disease
How drugs move through the body and act on it — the science behind every prescription.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~32 hours
Unit I — Pharmacokinetics
Absorption and routes of administration · Distribution · Metabolism · Excretion and half-life
Unit II — Pharmacodynamics
Receptors and drug action · Agonists and antagonists · Dose-response · Therapeutic index and safety
Unit III — Drugs by System
Drugs of the autonomic nervous system · Cardiovascular drugs · Antimicrobials · Analgesics
Unit IV — Prescribing Wisely
Drug interactions · Adverse effects · Special populations · The development and approval of drugs
How clinicians turn symptoms and signs into a diagnosis — the disciplined thinking behind the bedside.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~28 hours
Unit I — The Diagnostic Process
From complaint to differential · Hypothesis-driven reasoning · Pattern recognition and its traps · Pretest probability
Unit II — Working Up the Patient
Choosing and interpreting tests · Sensitivity and specificity · Likelihood ratios · Bayesian updating
Unit III — Reasoning Under Uncertainty
Cognitive biases in diagnosis · Red flags and can't-miss diagnoses · Watchful waiting · Communicating uncertainty
Unit IV — From Diagnosis to Plan
Weighing risks and benefits · Shared decision-making · Evidence-based medicine · Learning from error
How to take a patient's story and examine the body — the foundational skills of clinical practice.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~26 hours
Unit I — The Interview
Building rapport · The history of present illness · The review of systems · Difficult conversations
Unit II — The General Examination
Vital signs · Inspection and general appearance · The skin · The head and neck
Unit III — Examining the Systems
The cardiovascular exam · The respiratory exam · The abdominal exam · The neurological exam
Unit IV — Putting It Together
Documenting the findings · The problem list · Presenting a patient · When to examine again
A clear tour of modern medicine — what doctors do, how treatments are tested, and how to be a wise patient.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~14 hours
Unit I — The Body and Disease
Health and illness · What causes disease · How the body heals · When to seek care
Unit II — The Tools of Medicine
The physical exam · Common tests and scans · Medicines and how they help · Surgery in outline
Unit III — Evidence and Trust
How treatments are tested · Reading health news · Vaccines and prevention · Talking with your doctor