"Blood and guts": one component of an integrated program in biologic sciences as applied to medicine.

The 3-year medical school program at McMaster University encourages an approach to learning a physician can apply throughout his or her career. The program has four phases and provides early exposure to relevant clinical material. In phase 3, the basic science phase, the structure and function of organ systems in health and disease are studied. Understanding the mechanisms of disease in order to be able to relate clinical symptoms and signs to …