Blue Marble University Medical School, an online MD program for non-clinical careers, announces additions to its executive MD Curriculum to better prepare students for work in bio-medical fields and medical/hospital practice management.
Blue Marble University Medical School offers the world’s first and only online MD program. Intended for non-clinical careers, the program does not include any hands on clinical training nor any “clinical rotations”. The distance education MD is not intended for use in patient treatment, but rather is offered to train MD graduates for non-clinical careers in medical and hospital management, the pharmaceutical industry, medical research, medical insurance claims and medical malpractice reviews, private practice clinic management, and many other medical endeavors for which an executive type MD degree would be very useful. We discuss potential careers in non-clinical medicine HERE.
The complete curriculum appears below and our discussion of additions follows immediately after:
3 Year Online Doctor of Medicine Curriculum
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Title of Program: Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) |
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Year 1: Term 1 |
| Anatomy and Physiology: The study of the human body and its parts. Structure and functions of organs and tissues, nerve and muscle feedback mechanisms, biological defense mechanisms. Also covered in depth is Blood-Typing, fractionation, and physiology. 3 Credits |
| Molecular Biology and Introduction to Cancer Biology-First half of course covers the synthesis, structure and function of proteins, nucleic acids, and fatty acids, including the structure and function of mitochondrial DNA. Second half of course considers the biology of cancer, growth signals, blood vessel growth, and metastases. 3 Credits |
| Epidemiology/Biostatistics – The study of clusters of disease and methods of establishing causation. Statistical methods of interpreting clinical data to determine for example if a particular drug therapy is effective to a statistical probability. 3 Credits |
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Term 2 |
| Medical Immunology-The physical, chemical, and physiological characteristics of the human immune system, in vitro, in situ, and in vivo. Humoral and cellular immune response, autoimmune disease, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, and transplant rejection. Also covered is the immunology of fetal stem cells and fetal cell transplantation, the immunology aspects of autologous stem cell transplantation, and embryonic stem cell transplantation. 3 Credits |
| Pathology (1)- General: General Pathology topics include Cellular response to injury, inflammation, Hemodynamic disorders, Diseases of the Immune System, Neoplasia, Infectious disease. 3 Credits |
| Pathology (2) – Systemic: Topics include Blood Vessels, Heart, Diseases of White Blood Cells, Lung, Pancreas, Urinary Tract, Bones, Skin, Eye. 3 Credits |
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Term 3 |
| Pharmacology and Pharmacy – Distinction between Pharmacy and Pharmacology, drug names and classes, generic drugs, bio-identical hormones, steroids, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory drugs, pharmacy dispensing, compounding pharmacies, therapeutics. Included is a study of Hormone Replacement therapy including Bio-Identical Hormones. 3 Credits |
| Stem Cell Biology – The course begins with an overview of stem cells and the early history of embryonic stem cell research. We then proceed to a review of the techniques of using stem cells derived from human fetal tissue, and what diseases can be particularly controlled or cured. The course also includes a review of the current status of human embryonic stem cell treatments, why the international medical community has abandoned its interest in using embryonic stem cells, and also covering the two major drawbacks to embryonic stem cell therapy: Tendency toward proliferation (differentiation), making stem cells almost impossible to control once injected into another body, resulting in a differentiated cell ball of many types referred to as a teratoma; and the problem of cell rejection due to having “foreign” cell membrane antigenic determinants requiring a patient to take immune suppressing drugs. 3 Credits |
| Autologous Stem Cell Therapy- The course covers international treatments available using autologous stem cells (collected from the patient). The primary international treatment centers are reviewed. The mechanism of action is studied. The purpose of the course is to bring to light the many curative techniques being used internationally, such as the repair of severed spinal cord using neural stem cells isolated from the patients nose. It is hoped that the student can gain insight to the fact that these current international treatments are no longer “hypothetical”, and hopefully will inspire the students to generate their own ideas for future work in their careers 3 Credits. |
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Year 2: Term 1 |
| Clinical Medicine – This course presents the elements of taking a patient “history”, and performing “physical examination”. We review the basic steps based upon what symptoms or complaints the patient presents with. This course establishes taking the patient history as the heart of clinical medicine, and though the student may not be involved directly with patient treatment, these elementary concepts are central to good medical management. 3 Credits |
| Clinical Skills-Here we continue with the foundation in “patient encounter” covered in the previous Clinical Medicine course, and concentrate on the use of basic medical examination equipment and patient interaction, through the presentation of instructive “how to” videos as well as additional study materials. 3 Credits |
| System Disorders -In this course we will look at disease presentations at the patient level. We will use one of the most popular and most widely used training texts in the world, Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine. Selected chapters are covered that involve the systems irregularities most often presented in the family practice or out patient clinic. 3 Credits |
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Term 2 |
| Infectious Disease- The 4 main types of infectious agents are studied: Bacteria, Virus, Fungus, Parasites, including some aspects of infection at the molecular level, as well as clinical presentations and treatments. 3 Credits |
| Medical Laboratory Techniques- Rather than presenting a cook-book style rendition of numerous laboratory tests, the course covers basic set up of a medical lab, types of tests done, how some representative medical lab tests are performed, and manual vs automated blood analysis, Laboratory values and Concentrations. 3 Credits |
| Skin-Dermatology and Cosmetic Techniques – This course emphasizes Aesthetic Dermatology, which generally relies on the use of various medical equipment such as lasers to achieve a result without the use of surgery. In many countries, aesthetic dermatology clinics are operated by non-physicians, or alternatively, if physician owned, rely largely on technical staff trained in the use of equipment by the manufacturer. 3 Credits |
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Term 3 |
| Medical Embryology, Obstetrics and Gynecology– The course is challenging in its undertaking. For the Medical Embryology section: Consideration of the development of a complete organism from a single fertilized zygote, with emphasis on the development and identification of human stem cells. The course covers differentiation, types of early developmental cells, in vitro fertilization, the development of blast cells and germ layers, as well as the development of antigenic determinants as related to fetal stem cells. The Obstetrics and Gynecology portion is more clinically oriented toward issues of the sort encountered in a general practice, with emphasis on complications of child birth, as well as vaginal infections and vaginal cancer. Typical equipment for an OB/GYN practice is reviewed. 3 Credits |
| Basic Surgical Methods- Demonstration videos are heavily relied upon. Emphasis is on typical minor surgical techniques encountered in a general practice clinic or small rural hospital. Sterilization of surgical site as well as disposal of biological materials is covered. Types of surgical threads and wound closure techniques are studied. 3 Credits |
| Pediatrics and Family Medicine- Case studies and patient health encounters typical of a pediatric and family practice clinic. May include overview of a family practice clinic and/or introduction to critical care medicine. 3 Credits |
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Year 3 Term 1 |
| Forensic Medicine – The student studies: Blunt force and Physical Trauma, Environmental Accidents, Drug Abuse and Poisoning, Trauma with Sharp Instruments, Firearms Injuries, Biological Evidence for Time of Death. 3 Credits |
| Research- Basic and Clinical– Cell culturing, the Scientific Method, analysis of research papers, Form and citation, Clinical Trials, Single Patient Clinical Trial, Institutional Review Board Trial, off label and compassionate use trial. 3 Credits |
| Alternative Medicine – Introduction to the growing field of alternative medicine, by which we mean the alternative to allopathic medicine as practiced today in most countries. Allopathic medicine is what is taught in medical schools and revolves around medicines and procedures to effectuate “cures” or control disease. The course introduces alternative approaches toward healing including botanical medicine and herbology, Homeopathy, Oriental medicine, Hydrotherapy, Naturopathic manipulative therapy, Ayurvedic medicine, Naturopathy. 3 Credits |
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Term 2 |
| Medical Negligence Claims and Procedures- All about medical malpractice, standard of care, malpractice insurance, going without insurance, techniques for risk management at various levels (individual, clinic, small hospital). 3 Credits |
| Medical Insurance and Coding- Medical insurance from the health care provider vantage point. Software for medical coding and billing of insurer by health care provider, non-payment by insurer, pre-approvals. 3 Credits |
| Medical History and Records Management- Medical history and records are revisited from the angle of storage, indexing, retrieval, regulatory compliance and privacy. 3 Credits |
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Term 3 |
| Medical Devices- A special part of the practice of medicine and the development of new procedures is the highly regulated field of medical devices, which are mechanical and other devices used in medical practice. The field is studied with representative examples, and an overview of regulatory control is presented. 3 credits |
| Radiology and Imaging- x-ray, CAT scan, MRI, ultrasound, and other equipment is reviewed as to type of data obtained with representative examples and with emphasis on clinical practice. 3 Credits |
| Hospital Management- The practice of medicine is summarized in terms of practice management, as well as essentials of Hospital Management. The program is closed out with a presentation of setting up a small clinic, equipment leasing and financing, appropriate computer systems, and employment procedures. 3 Credits |
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Total Number of Trimester Credits: 81 |
In addition to core medical courses, students are introduced to many other medical fields:
Medical Laboratory Techniques: Rather than presenting a cook-book style rendition of numerous laboratory tests, the course covers basic set up of a medical lab, types of tests done, how some representative medical lab tests are performed, and manual vs automated blood analysis, Laboratory values and Concentrations. We also study the set-up and management of a walk-in medical laboratory.
Skin-Dermatology and Cosmetic Techniques: This course emphasizes Aesthetic Dermatology, which generally relies on the use of various medical equipment such as lasers to achieve a result without the use of surgery. In many countries, aesthetic dermatology clinics are operated by non-physicians, or alternatively, if physician owned, rely largely on technical staff trained in the use of equipment by the manufacturer. We review cost of equipment, and set-up of an actual skin clinic.
Forensic Medicine: In addition to studying cause of death evidence, and analysis of dead bodies at autopsy, we cover crime scene collection of medical evidence, including criminal law chain of cutody, using actual cases as models for how a medical crime lab should operate.
Stem Cell Medicine: Our medical students are introduce to the “new medicine”— Patient Specific Stem Cell Medicine— through our two courses: Stem Cell Biology; and Disease Treatment with Autologous Stem Cells. These course prepare students for clinical research careers in this important new field. How to establish and manage an operating stem cell treatment facility is also covered.
We devote most of the third year of our Curriculum to studying the management of medical practices, hospital management, medical insurance claims, and most importantly, how to actually operate and manage a medical practice:
Medical Negligence Claims and Procedures: All about medical malpractice, standard of care, malpractice insurance, going without insurance, techniques for risk management at various levels (individual, clinic, small hospital).
Medical Insurance Billing Coding: Medical insurance billing from the health care provider vantage point. Software for medical coding and billing of insurer by health care provider, non-payment by insurer, pre-approvals. A big part of private medical practice is managing medical insurance billing and proper coding as well in-house and hospital medical records with emphasis on insurance company issues/treatment and diagnosis coding…Nothing compares with actual learning how to successfully accomplish insurance and coding matters in order to pay physicians and staff, as well as overhead expense. We include the study of various software useful in meeting Medicare and private insurance requirements regarding diagnosis and treatment codes. Study of ICD-10, CPT, ICD-CM, CMS-1500 form included as well.
Medical History and Records Management: Medical history and records are revisited from the angle of storage, indexing, retrieval, regulatory compliance and privacy. A whole new opportunity for a career in the new compliance industry, “Health Informatics”, exists for an MD from Blue Marble who can help medical practices and hospitals comply with new US laws which require that physicians maintain digital records, as well as electronic records capable of transmission anywhere, and who have some knowledge of the new software and computer systems designed to meet current standards.
Medical Devices: A special part of the practice of medicine and the development of new procedures is the highly regulated field of medical devices, which are mechanical and other devices used in medical practice. The field is studied with representative examples, and an overview of regulatory control is presented. Medical Devices is a whole other section of the medical field. There are many, many high paying positions within this field for someone with a degree in medicine from Blue Marble University and a demonstrated familiarity with the field. We say “familiarity”, because the field is so immense, covers almost every conceivable product used in medicine (including disposable latex gloves!!!), and is more highly regulated than even the pharmaceutical industry, that for the most part companies, institutions, and regulatory agencies will already have their own highly developed departments that they just need people to operate and continue for them.
Radiology and Imaging: Of course we cover the usual equipment and usefulness of X-ray, CAT scan, MRI, ultrasound, and other equipment. But more than that, we cover costs of equipment, costs of procedure to patient, and how to set up both a free standing as well as mobile MRI practice.
Hospital Management: The practice of medicine is summarized in terms of practice management, as well as essentials of Hospital Management. The program is closed out with a presentation of setting up a small clinic, equipment leasing and financing, appropriate computer systems, and employment procedures.
What do all these courses have in common? They are focused on the management of medical and hospital practices. And as we have emphasized many times, one can own and operate any kind of medical clinic and manage any hospital in most countries and most States in the US, as long as you hire licensed health care providers to actually treat patients (and of course, do not treat patients yourself!!).
So there you have it!! This is why we believe our 3 year online MD degree to be such a unique, novel, and useful medical degree. As a Doctor of Medicine, there are many, many pathways to working within the medical field without actually being a licensed physician. You are not yourself boxed in by licensing requirements, years of additional clinical training, continuing education, peer review and so forth, which apparently make the actual practice of medicine so dissatisfying to many physicians.
In addition to our regular 3 year online MD degree program, we offer a Fast Track Combination Bachelor of Science (B.S.)/ Doctor of Medicine(M.D.), a 5 Year Online MD program which you can enter right after High School.
After satisfactory completion of the first two years curriculum, the student then joins our regular medical students at the Blue Marble University School of Medicine, and follows the 3 year online curriculum for the MD degree that is shown above for our 3 year online MD degree.
Blue Marble University School of Medicine offers the only online MD degree that can be completed in three years, totally online. It is an exciting, unique program that trains the student in the medical arts and medical sciences for application in non-clinical careers.
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Blue Marble University Medical School 