Our pre-med program is designed for students right out of high school or applicants without the prerequisites needed for the 4 year MD program. This program is 4 semesters long or 1 ½ years, and is completed on our Aruba campus.

The curriculum is consistent with Xavier’s integrated medical curriculum, which will allow students to have a smooth transition from pre-medical science into basic science. It presents fundamental scientific concepts from a medical perspective and incorporates USMLE Step 1 familiarization from Day 1.

All students that complete the pre-med successfully will have direct entry into our 4 year MD program.

• Cells and Cellular Processes – This course will focus on the fundamentals of cellular biology and genetics. The course takes students on a journey through the cell starting with biological molecules, through organelles, and finally, cellular processes. In addition to gaining a foundation in cellular biology, students will be introduced to the scientific method and the manner in which questions are asked and answered in medicine and science. Both animal and human biological systems will be covered to give students an overview of the different biological strategies employed on earth for survival and reproduction.
• Introduction to Chemical Properties of Matter – The course aims to prepare tomorrow’s doctors by setting the foundation of chemistry concepts and emphasizing how to utilize the information, and how to incorporate into medical training. This course introduces basic chemistry concepts such as types of chemical reactions, thermodynamics, orbitals, chemical bonds, and chemical calculations.
• Energy and the Universe – This course will expose students to college level mathematics followed by some exciting areas of Physics such as Kinematics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Optics, Vibration, Waves, Electromagnetism Quantum Mechanics, and Fluid Mechanics.
• Medical Communications – The purpose of the medical communications course is to provide the student with an understanding of the role of communication skills and the ability to apply this knowledge to diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Medical Communications is the study of communicating within the medical community while obtaining better usage and style within the English language. This course will explore the biopsychosocial needs of patients, families, and the multidisciplinary team.

• Organ Structure and Function I – This course consists of fundamental concepts, musculoskeletal, and the renal systems. Each system will cover the fundamentals of normal structure and function with an introduction to clinical concepts and abnormal structure and function. Instructional methods will include lecture, small-group sessions, problem-based learning (PBL), laboratory work, self-study and clinical experience with real and simulated patients.
• Basic Principles of Chemical Reactivity – This is the second half of a two-semester sequence designed for the non-chemistry major to gain a basic understanding of general chemistry. It is the continuation of Introduction to Chemical Property of Matter. Basic Principles of Chemical Reactivity introduces additional fundamental chemistry concepts such as kinetics, acids and bases, and nuclear reactions. This course also introduces the student to some Organic Chemistry concepts such as nomenclature and structures.
• Fundamentals of Heat and Electromagnetic Energy – This course is a pre-medical course in physics, specifically as it relates to the human body and medicine. The concepts of physics, such as linear acceleration, fluid dynamics, vectors, and nuclear power, will be taught with an eye towards preparing students to use this information during their medical studies. In addition, the course will teach students to think logically, problem solve, and think in regressive patterns such as those involved in diagnostics. The course work will include identifying, translating, and solving mathematical physics problems as they relate to the science of medicine.

• Organ Structure and Function II – This course consists of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and the respiratory systems. Each system will cover the fundamentals of normal structure and function with an introduction to clinical concepts and abnormal structure and function. Instructional methods will include lecture, small-group sessions, PBL, laboratory work, self-study and clinical experience with real and simulated patients.
• Inheritance and Evolution – This course will continue with classical and molecular genetics processes learned in Cells and Cellular Processes, and explore how genes relate to disease. The relationship between genes, transcripts, and proteins, and how it affects an individual’s health will be explored. A critical component will be understanding the inheritance mechanisms of genes through utilization of human pedigrees. In addition, the course will look at micro and macro evolution.
• Ethics and Behavioral Sciences I – This course, along with Ethics and Behavioral Sciences 2, is a broad survey of the history and theory underlying behavioral science and psychology, and medical ethics. This course is a preparatory course designed to prepare the student for the study of Medical Psychology and Ethics in the medical curriculum. Specific topics covered will include an overview of those ethical principles which will govern all medical practice, with specific application to ethics in the practice of psychiatric and behavioral medicine. Additionally, this course will cover the history of psychology and psychological research, lifespan development, sensation, learning, consciousness and cognition, all as they relate to human behavior in the medical setting. The course will conclude with an overview of the primary psychiatric pathologies that students will be studying in the medical curriculum, as well as those which will most often be encountered during clinical training in preparation for Step 1 of the USMLE .

• Organ Structure and Function III – This course consists of nervous, endocrine and reproduction, and the immune systems. Each system will cover the fundamentals of normal structure and function with an introduction to clinical concepts and abnormal structure and function. Instructional methods will include lecture, small-group sessions, PBL, laboratory work, self-study and clinical experience with real and simulated patients.
• Biostatistics – This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts of statistics and how they are used in medicine and the biological sciences.
• Ethics and Behavioral Sciences II – This course is a continuation of Ethics and Behavioral Sciences 1. It is a broad survey of the history and theory underlying behavioral science and psychology, and medical ethics. This course is a preparatory course designed to prepare the student for the study of Medical Psychology and Ethics in the medical curriculum. Specific topics covered will include an overview of those ethical principles which will govern all medical practice, with specific application to ethics in the practice of psychiatric and behavioral medicine. Additionally, this course will cover the history of psychology and psychological research, lifespan development, sensation, learning, consciousness and cognition, all as they relate to human behavior in the medical setting. The course will conclude with an overview of the primary psychiatric pathologies that students will be studying in the medical curriculum, as well as those which will most often be encountered during clinical training in preparation for Step 1 of the USMLE .