Medical psychology (a.a. 2026/27)

The Clinical Psychology module aims to provide students with the theoretical framework within which to develop communication and relational skills to communicate with patients and their families. Specifically, the course aims to illustrate the theoretical model of patient-centered medicine and some communication skills needed to conduct patient-centered clinical interviews of different complexity (from the medical history-taking interview to the communication of bad news).

Study materials:

•Levenstein JH, McCracken EC, McWhinney IR, Stewart MA, Brown JB. The patient-centred clinical method. 1. A model for the doctor-patient interaction in family medicine. Fam Pract. 1986 Mar;3(1):24-30.
•Baile WF, Buckman R, Lenzi R, Glober G, Beale EA, Kudelka AP. SPIKES-A six-step protocol for delivering bad news: application to the patient with cancer. Oncologist. 2000;5(4):302-11.
•LC Curry, J G Stone. The grief process: a preparation for death. Clin Nurse Spec, 1991;5(1):17-22.

Mechanisms of diseases (a.a. 2026/27)

The course offers a mechanistic view of human diseases, describing the causes of cell and tissue injury (cellular pathology and general pathology modules), and the immune responses organized to cope with insults to our body (general pathology and immunology modules). In a second part, principles of cancer immunology (oncology module), immune-based diseases (immune-pathology module) and vascular disorders (vascular module) will be covered.