Clerkship
Core Clerkship Topics
In the
clinical years of medical education, students learn the practice of medicine in
the "real world." While
each clerkship site is unique and types of clinical problems encountered may
vary, a core curriculum is maintained at all sites.
To help standardize clinical training, we have defined a set of common
topics (see below) and clinical competencies for the clerkship. Students should
have exposure to most of these common conditions/medical problems at the
completion of the rotation. Those preceded
by an asterisk and in bold print
are required core clerkship topics.
All students are required to gain a basic knowledge in treating patients with
these conditions/problems. Learning opportunities for these core clerkship
topics include patient encounters, lectures and didactics, reading and
completion of computer cases. It is the responsibility of the students to
ensure that they have gained adequate proficiency in each of the required topics.
If you have difficulty mastering any of these topics, please seek
assistance from your site director or Dr. Leong, the clerkship director.
Web-based computer case studies for the
common topics have been developed and are located at
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/ume/fcmonline/index.htm.
The computer case studies are useful tutorials to help you achieve these
competencies by filling in gaps in your clinical experiences, to reinforce
existing knowledge, and refine problem-solving and clinical skills.
| 1. Health Maintenance |
|
| 2. Patients presenting with a
symptom or sign |
3. Patients presenting with a known
condition |
|
|
|
Core Topic Requirements for Patient Encounters
Core Diagnosis
|
Minimum
Number
|
|
Preventive Health
|
5
|
|
WCC
|
|
|
Adult
PE
|
|
|
Annual
pap/pelvic
|
|
|
General
|
3
|
|
Headache
|
|
|
Substance
Abuse (ETOH, tobacco, drugs)
|
|
|
Fatigue
|
|
|
Cardiac
|
5
|
|
Hypertension
|
|
|
Dyslipidemia
|
|
|
CHF
|
|
|
Chest
Pain/Coronary Heart Disease
|
|
|
Derm
|
2
|
|
Dermatitis
|
|
|
Skin
Lesions
|
|
|
Endocrine
|
5
|
|
DM
|
|
|
Thyroid
disorders
|
|
|
Obesity
|
|
|
ENT
|
5
|
|
URI/Sinusitis
|
|
|
Pharyngitis
|
|
|
Otitis
Media/Externa
|
|
|
GI
|
3
|
|
PUD/Dyspepsia/GERD
|
|
|
Abdominal
Pain
|
|
|
Musculoskeletal
|
3
|
|
Back
Pain
|
|
|
Joint
pain/Arthritis
|
|
|
Sprains/strains
|
|
|
Psychiatry
|
3
|
|
Depression
|
|
|
Anxiety
|
|
|
Mood
Disorders
|
|
|
Respiratory
|
4
|
|
Asthma/Allergies
|
|
|
Pneumonia/Bronchitis
|
|
|
COPD
|
|
|
Women’s Health
|
2
|
|
Vaginitis
|
|
|
Menstrual
disorder
|
|
|
UTI
|
|
|
Pregnancy
related care
|
|
|
