Community Patient Care
Community Patient Care Overview
The Florida State University College of Medicine’s goal is to educate and develop exemplary physicians who practice patient-centered health care, discover and advance knowledge, and are responsive to community needs, especially through service to elder, rural, and underserved populations. The IMS Program expands and develops the solid science foundation needed to apply to medical school, dental school, physician assistant programs, and a number of other healthcare professions that require post baccalaureate training.
The Community Patient Care major prepares students to work directly with patients in a variety of venues from health clinics to nonprofit respite providers. This major enhances the College mission by providing students the opportunity to focus in one of five different areas; Child Welfare Practice, Developmental Disabilities, Gerontology/Aging Studies, Medical Spanish Interpreter, Patient Health Navigation/Advocacy.
Students benefit from the rigorous science core and through the experiential and capstone courses in which they will interface with the community venues that might engage their services after graduation.
Degree Requirements
In addition to completion of the Core Requirements, the following requirements apply:
1) Completion of a minimum of 33 hours of approved upper-division coursework with grades of C- or higher.
2) Students in the Community Patient Care Major must choose and complete the series of courses for one of the five options and take at least six credits of science electives and six credits of non-science electives from the approved lists.
3) Completion of the IMS Experiential Service Learning Seminar sequence and Senior Capstone course with project.
4) A minimum GPA of 2.0 in all coursework.
The Community Patient Care Major Curriculum Sheet details the requirements for the major.
Core Requirements
The Community Patient Care major requires a rigorous science core curriculum. The Core Requirements include the pre-requisites for advanced professional training and as such those for medicine and various health professions.
Upper Level Requirements
In addition to the Focus Option Requirements listed below, a student’s program of studies must include at least six credits of upper-level science courses and six credits of upper level non-science courses from the Major Electives List for a total of 33 hours of upper division major electives. See the CPC Curriculum Sheet for required courses.
The courses approved for the IMS Upper Division Electives are offered by our partnered colleges across FSU that are related to health and may be pre-requisites for professional health schools. The list of approved upper division are available for downloading under Resources.
NOTE: Many of the core and upper level courses in the IMS degree have pre-requisites. Pre-calculus, trigonometry, and general psychology are required as they are pre-requisite courses for many of the IMS core and major course requirements.
Prerequisites/corequisites: You are responsible for completing the prerequisites or corequisites required for courses in which you enroll. Some departments will drop you from a course if you do not have the required prerequisite. However, your failure to have completed appropriate prerequisites is not justification for you to request a course drop outside the normal procedures for course drops.
Healthcare in Florida: To prepare for a role in the healthcare of Floridians, the College of Medicine recommends proficiency in Spanish through the intermediate level (2220) or sign language through the advanced (2614 or equivalent) level.
Options in the Major
Community Patient Care majors must complete the series of courses within 1 of the 5 options in the major. Certificate programs are available for some of the options. Students do not receive a certificate for completing the courses required for the Community Patient Care major.
In order to participate and earn the certificate options, students must consult with the home Colleges offering the certificates. Certificate programs have specific requirements beyond the requirements for the Community Patient Care major, such as a practicum or internship which might count toward a student's experiential learning hours with approval from the IMS Community Coordinator, but not for their focus area's degree requirements.
Options in the Major
CPC majors must complete one of the options below AND electives including six credits of upper-level science courses and six credits of upper level non-science courses for a total of 33 hours of upper division major electives.
- Medical Spanish Interpreter (certificate available – College of Medicine)
NOTE: Students who wish to pursue this option will need to contact the Certificate Coordinator in the College of Communication & Information to determine eligibility. This focus area is recommended for students who place into SPN3350. - Developmental Disabilities (certificate available – College of Communication and Information, School of Communication and Science and Disorders)
NOTE: Certificate applicants are required to apply as soon as possible, and prior to completing the second course in the program. - Child Welfare Practice (certificate available – College of Social Work)
NOTE: Certificate applicants are required to apply as soon as possible, and prior to completing the second course in the program. IMS students are required to complete at least 300 internship hours within one semester for the certificate program. - Gerontology/Aging Studies (certificate available – College of Social Work)
NOTE: Certificate applicants are required to apply as soon as possible, and prior to completing the second course in the program. - Patient Health Navigation/Advocacy (certificate not available for this option)
Major Mapping
The Community Patient Care Academic Map is a term-by-term sample course schedule. The milestones are designed to keep you on course to graduate in four years.
Milestones are courses and special requirements necessary for timely progress to complete a major. Missing milestones will result in one of two types of map registration stops. The first level (Degree Map Off-track) is placed following grade posting if the student has missed a milestone (course and/or GPA) for the first time in the major. If a student is in non-compliance with milestones for two (2) consecutive semesters (excluding summers), a Major Change Required stop is placed on the student's registration.