Clerkship
Goals
The clerkship experience is designed for students:
- To participate in an outpatient family medicine practice with emphasis in
family oriented comprehensive care.
- To develop knowledge, skills, and attitude for identifying, evaluating and
managing common medical problems as presented in the practice of family
medicine.
- To develop, expand, and apply basic medical problem-solving skills; areas
of emphasis will include medical interviewing, the physical examination,
patient management, patient education and health promotion, and appropriate
follow-up.
- To develop an awareness of the impact of community dynamics and resources
upon the practice of family medicine.
Objectives
Upon successful completion of the family medicine clerkship, each third-year
medical student should possess an appropriate level of the knowledge, attitudes,
and skills needed to accomplish the following goals and objectives:
No. 1: To refine basic clinical skills that are essential to practicing
family medicine effectively.
The student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a basic level of competency in the history,
physical examination, and problem-solving skills.
- Obtain a focused, problem-oriented history and physical in
an efficient manner.
- Present a patient case in an orderly, thorough, and
efficient manner.
- Record a complete and organized SOAP note.
No. 2: To employ a primary care approach to the diagnosis and management of
the most common problems seen in the family medicine setting.
The student will be able to:
- Formulate a differential diagnosis based on findings from the history and
physical exam.
- Initially manage common acute illnesses using a focused, problem-oriented
approach.
- Make basic diagnostic and treatment decisions that consider the
limitations of clinical data.
- Develop a treatment plan that is tailored to the patient's overall health
needs and resources.
- Identify serious, life-threatening conditions early in the treatment of
acutely and chronically ill patients.
No. 3: To establish effective doctor-patient relationships by using
appropriate interpersonal communication skills.
The student will be able to:
- Demonstrate interpersonal skills that enhance communication with the
patient and the patient's family.
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of issues of informed consent and
confidentiality.
- Develop diagnostic and treatment plans in partnership with the patient and
patient's family.
No. 4: To gain knowledge and awareness of the principles and applications of
health promotion and disease prevention in the family medicine setting.
The student will be able to:
- Identify health risks in given patients, families, and communities.
- Use appropriate screening tools and protocols for health maintenance,
including immunizations, in specific populations.
- Select protocols for reducing identified health risks.
- Develop effective strategies for behavioral change.
- Implement patient education in daily practice.
No. 5: The student will develop an awareness of, and a sensitivity to, the
psycho-social, cultural, familial, and socioeconomic aspects of medical problems
as they relate to patient management.
The student will be able to:
- Collect and integrate psychosocial, cultural, familial and socioeconomic
data in patient care.
- Recognize the social, community, and economic factors that affect the
patient's health, access to care, and treatment options.
- Practice cost-effective patient care when making patient management
decisions.
No. 6: To gain exposure to, and an understanding of, the practice of family
medicine and the role of the family practitioner within the health care delivery
system.
The student will be able to:
- Describe the role of the family physician as a coordinator of care.
- Describe the important factors related to communication during the patient
care process, including communication with other health care providers and
consultants.
- Recognize appropriate consultation resources and discuss effective use of
these resources.
- Understand the roles of other health care professionals and how to work
with them to coordinate patient care.
- Describe the various settings in which family physicians provide care.
No. 7: To provide comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous as well as
episodic health care to the individual patient and family regardless of patient
characteristics, specific disease, or setting of the patient encounter.
The student will be able to:
- Encourage the patient seen for episodic or acute illness to seek
continuing medical care.
- Document in the problem-oriented patient record appropriate information
for acute and continuing care.
- Assess the patient's adherence to a treatment plan.
- Monitor a patient's response to treatment and modify a patient's treatment
based on his/her initial response.
- Recognize the need for the family physician's continuing role and
responsibilities in the care of patients during the process of consultations
and referral.
No. 8: To develop knowledge and skills related to common medical office
studies and procedures practiced in the family physician's office.
The student will be able to:
- Describe the indications for diagnostic tests and common medical office
procedures.
- Obtain informed consent for common office procedures.
- Demonstrate cost effective use of diagnostic tests and evaluative
procedures.
- Interpret the findings of common office lab tests and studies.
- Describe the reliability, indications, and potential complications of
common tests and procedures.
No. 9: To demonstrate knowledge and skills required for lifelong learning and
the competent practice of medicine.
The student will be able to:
- Demonstrate principles of lifelong learning including research, reading,
and inquiry.
- Utilize appropriate resources to answer clinical questions.
- Record and present data in an accurate and objective way.
- Illustrate the use of universal precautions when examining patients.
- Exhibit intellectual curiosity and self-motivation to promote
self-learning.
- Display attitudes and professional behavior appropriate for clinical
practice.
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