Medicine: The Journey to Saving Lives
Are you interested in a career in medicine? What better way to get a glimpse into the medical field than by exploring an Emergency Department (ED)? In this course, you’ll get an inside look at the heart of the hospital, encounter patients as they are triaged based on their symptoms and vitals, and uncover how professionals gather information through tests and patient feedback to determine treatment. Future doctors: this course is for you.
Program Dates
Choose the course length that works for you: 2-week and 4-week sessions
Eligibility
For students ages 13 and up
Individual Course Fees
$1,795
Experience the Dynamics of Emergency Medicine at Work
Welcome to the Emergency Department
Get an inside look at the emergency department, its role within a hospital, and its connection to internal medicine. Discover how patients are triaged based on their symptoms and vitals.
What To Do When a Patient Exhibits Chest Pain
Develop a definitive diagnosis by recognizing symptoms and common descriptions of chest pain, including heart attack. Understand the purpose and role of an EKG and CT.
Determine Next Steps When a Patient Has Stomach Pain
Develop a diagnosis by recognizing the symptoms and causes of common abdominal pain. Assess the results of blood tests and ultrasound, and explain their role in diagnosis.
Learn How To Address a Patient Who Shows Confusion
Determine the common causes of confusion. Review how to identify stroke symptoms and treat them. Understand how an infection or incorrect medication dosage can present like a stroke.
Ascertain How To Treat a Patient With Shortness of Breath
Learn the tests used to diagnose underlying causes of shortness of breath, such as pneumonia. Assess the results of a chest x-ray and explain its role in diagnosis.
Course Conclusion & Final Capstone Project
Utilize everything learned throughout this course to review the presenting symptoms of a patient. Determine how they would reach a diagnosis, including selecting their testing methods.
How You Will Benefit
- Understand how the modern emergency department works.
- Know the various members of the emergency team and their role in patient care.
- Be able to describe the patient journey from intake and triage to diagnosis and treatment.
- Determine if a future in the world of medicine is right for you.
- Complete a Final Capstone Project to demonstrate what you’ve learned.
- Earn a Certificate of Completion from Northwestern University.
Three Learning Advantages Designed for You
Final Capstone Project
This online course culminates in a Final Capstone Project that allows you to:
- Review a patient’s presenting symptoms, their differential, and their process for arriving at a diagnosis.
- Explain the diagnosis as if explaining it to the patient.
Mentoring
You’ll receive guidance from a mentor who can support you and answer questions as you deepen your learning experience. You can expect:
- Expertise in each course’s particular field
- Encouragement and feedback on all assignments
- Inspiration, motivation, and confidence to help you succeed in your studies
Flexible Learning
- 100% online learning that works with your schedule
- You’ll learn through engaging video lessons. Watch anytime that works for you
- 20-30 hours of total instruction and course work, including engaging multimedia, simulations, and curated assignments for which you will receive guidance and support from mentors
Apply Now for the Next Available Course
All course options have the same educational content, learning materials, and number of assignments. We are offering a condensed version of the course in order to accommodate students’ individual schedules.
Course Designed by Northwestern Faculty
Maya Defoe, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine
Maya Defoe, MD is an academic hospitalist and an assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Professor Defoe has served as the recruitment director for the Division of Hospital Medicine since 2018, and has served as medical director of clinical documentation since 2017.
How To Apply:
It’s easy. No transcripts or letters of recommendation are required. Just provide some basic information and tell us why you wish to take this program.
Note: Please submit all application materials in English.
Begin the guided application process. It should take only a few minutes of your time to answer the questions.
Want to Know More?
Sign up for more information and we’ll be in touch.
Admissions
Our application process is easy. You can expect a prompt decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will you be graded? What are assignments like? How much time do you have to turn around a project? When do you find out if you're admitted? Find answers to your questions here.
Scholarships
We offer need-based scholarships in each cohort to students exhibiting high potential who need assistance affording the associated cost. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship but you:
- Haven't applied to the program, complete your application now. The scholarship application is included.
- Applied to the program and didn't fill out a scholarship request, reach out to us at support@precollege.northwestern.edu for assistance.
- Are unsure about whether or not you applied for a scholarship, reach out to us at support@precollege.northwestern.edu for assistance.