Third Year Clerkship & Fourth Year Externship Course Descriptions

Goal

This Family Medicine Clerkship or Externship rotation is designed for the third or fourth year medical student. The experience involves working closely with residents and faculty in a community based Family Medicine Residency Program. The student will actively participate in the in-patient management of adult, pediatric and obstetrical patients. In addition, the student will be exposed to and participate in, the management of ambulatory patients in the Family Health Center. The goal of this rotation is to familiarize the student with the full scope of Family Medicine including such office procedures as sigmoidoscopy, colposcopy, LEEP, fine needle aspiration and minor skin procedures. The Externship experience is more flexible according to the particular interest and needs of the Fourth Year Student.

For students interested in Sports Medicine, a combination Family Medicine/Sports Medicine Externship is available.

Housing and meals in our hospital cafeteria are provided as a stipend for our externs.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of the family medicine Clerkship/Externship, each third or fourth-year medical student should possess an appropriate level of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to accomplish the following objectives:

Objective 1: To refine basic clinical skills that are essential to practicing family medicine effectively.

Objective 2: To employ a primary care approach to the diagnosis and management of the most common problems seen in the family medicine setting.

Objective 3: To establish effective doctor-patient relationships by using appropriate interpersonal communication skills.

Objective 4: To gain knowledge and awareness of the principles and applications of health promotion and disease prevention in the family medicine setting.

Objective 5: The student will develop an awareness of, and a sensitivity to, the psychosocial, cultural, familial, and socioeconomic aspects of medical problems as they relate to patient management

Objective 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.

Objective 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.

Objective 8: To develop knowledge and skills related to common medical office studies and procedures practiced in the family physicians's office.