Elements covered by the Medicine I course. (Images adapted by Tufts OCW.)

This course teaches the dental student basic medicine skills, from History Taking to the Physical Examination. It provides concise practical information about patient assessment, symptoms and signs of common diseases, laboratory tests, and pharmacology and prescription writing.

Year one of a three year medical course for dental students, this course focuses on Patient Assessment, History Taking, Physical Examination, and Introduction to Pharmacology and Prescriptions.

• To be able to do a complete medical history, dental history, physical examination and intraoral assessment from a dental and a clinical pathology perspective on a patient in the dental setting.
• To have a basic understanding of the "highest priority illnesses" including some of the symptoms and signs associated with those illnesses.
• To have a good understanding of common antibiotics encountered in dentistry and to have some knowledge of local anesthetics and analgesics used in dentistry.
• To learn the details of prescription writing.
• To learn the art of writing SOAP notes in the patient's record.
• To become aware of the special needs patient, very particularly the victims of domestic violence and patients with disabilities.
• To understand the role of Behavioral Medicine in Dentistry.

The course content of Medicine I is taught at a pace that is perceived comfortably by the student body.  The contents per lecture may thus be completed or carried forward depending upon the student body comfort level with the understanding of the material.