A family physician must - first of all - be capable of problem-solving and have developed an expertise in diagnosis. To achieve this, the curriculum at TOUROCOM stresses the interdependence of the biological, clinical, behavioral and social sciences. Emphasis is on the education of physicians for primary care medicine and the specific roles of osteopathic principles in the maintenance of health and treatment of disease. With this approach, practice in problem-solving becomes a part of the daily classroom clinic experience.

The academic program is organized around the basic concepts of Osteopathic Medicine, and is intended to meet the following goals:

1. To accord primacy to the role of the musculoskeletal system in the total body economy.
2. To recognize and emphasize the inherent capacity within the total person to ease and maintain health; to educate physicians to cooperate with this inherent therapeutic capacity in their methods of treatment.
3. To offer a curriculum which will interest students in primary care, and prepare them to provide excellent and comprehensive health care to the entire family.
4. To provide sufficient academic training to make students aware of health needs which must be referred to a specialist.

The curriculum is divided into two phases:

I. Basic Sciences. In the first and second years, the focus of the program is on the teaching of correlated systems, incorporating basic and clinical sciences in the study of the organ systems of the body. Early clinical exposure in the form of shadowing is also required.

II. Clinical Experience. In the third and fourth years, clinical rotations and preceptorships are offered under the direction and supervision of clinical professors and adjunct clinical professors at affiliated medical institutions. Most states require one year of post-graduate training, and all states require evidence of good moral character, before granting a license to practice osteopathic medicine.