We strive to make the MD and PhD portions of the program as integrated as possible. All MD/PhD students come together for biweekly meetings, regardless of their phase in the program. These sessions provide opportunities for feedback and support, both from peers and from program leaders. In the summer after the first year of medical school, students participate in an intensive laboratory skills course to start building their research and lab skills. In the PhD years, students complete the clerkship in family medicine, to help develop a research focus that informed by clinical experience and patient needs. The curriculum in MD Years 1 and 2 is identical for MD and MD/PhD students. Years 1 and 2 are composed of a two-year integrated basic science course, Integrated Medical Sciences, and a two-year clinical skills course, called Doctoring, designed to teach the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of a competent, ethical, and humane physician. Students have patient interactions beginning in the first few weeks of first year. MD/PhD students are afforded increased flexibility in designating time during the clinical years. While the required core clerkships are the same as for MD students, MD/PhD students are able to use up to 20 elective weeks to complete or extend upon their graduate studies.