Medical education involves a number of different learning experiences that, in turn, necessitate a variety of teaching environments. While there are a variety of teaching environments used in the MD program, the basic distinction is between didactic (classroom) teaching environments and clinical teaching environments.

Didactic (Classroom) Teaching

Particularly in the first two years of the MD program (Phases 1, 2, 3), a significant amount of teaching is conducted in the classroom. The majority of labs, lectures, and seminars take place on campus. Students in Phase 4 participate in didactic teaching sessions as part of individual core experiences. These teaching sessions typically occur on campus with  web conferencing and other distance technologies, enablng participation fromn rural, remote or other locations. 

Clinical Teaching

The MD program utilizes a network of hospitals and other sites in order to provide students with a rich and diverse clinicaltraining experience. Clinical training sites are located throughout the provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The Faculty of Medicine has established a distributed medical education network where physician leads and program administrators work closely with the Health Authorities to facilitate accommodations, internet access and wellness supports for students. Students have exposure to tertiary, secondary, rural and remote learning experiences throughout their training.

Community Engagement 
The Community Engagement course is offered sequentially in Phases 1, 2 and 3. Phase 1 includes the Early Clinical Experience during which students spend up to one afternoon per week with a physician. Phase 2 has a two (2) week Community Engagement experience is an introduction to the relationship between community organizations and physicians. In Phase 3, a two (2) week Community Engagement experience with a family physician, health agencies and community organizations.

During Phase 4, there is a mandatory eight-week Rural Family Medicine experience in third year and a 4 week rural selective in a core discipline in the fourth year.