The Family Medicine core clerkship is a required primary care ambulatory rotation. The clerkship teaches the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to provide continuing, comprehensive, and preventive care to individuals and families who represent a broad spectrum of ages and cultures in the outpatient setting.
The Family Medicine core clerkship allows students to experience and participate in the practice of Family Medicine. Each setting will provide learning opportunities in the areas of adult medicine, pediatrics, and office gynecology. Many sites also offer obstetrical care, office surgery, and supportive/directive counseling as learning opportunities. The student will be encouraged to crystallize feeling on ethical-medical issues, on identifying personal priorities, strengths and weaknesses, and to gain insight into family processes.
Altruism |
Performance Objective |
Evaluation Method |
Graduation Competency |
- Provide comprehensive patient care with a family and community perspective as evidenced by:
|
- Students will explore each patient’s illness experience, including their ideas, feelings, and fears, while conducting a history
- Students will provide attentiveness to both spoken and unspoken “cues” from the patient
- Students will explore family, community and cultural factors that may be influencing a patient’s illness experience, e.g., financial issues, health care beliefs
- Students will develop collaborative management plans that reflect awareness of patient, family, and cultural factors that are likely to influence success
- Students will facilitate the participation of family members(s) or significant others to ensure optimal care
- Students will provide anticipatory health care, e.g., discussion of current status and risk factors, providing age and sex appropriate education
- Students will provide patient education that includes encouraging patients to identify personally important short and longer-term health goals
- Students will provide “longitudinal” rather than episodic care for patients of all ages
- Students will coordinate the use of other professionals (e.g., physician specialists, physical and occupational therapist, social workers, community resources) to ensure comprehensive patient care
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4, 6, 7
|
1g,1f,1k, 2e, 2c,4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 5e, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e
|
Provide comprehensive patient care with a family and community perspective |
- Students will explore each patient’s illness experience, including their ideas, feelings, and fears, while conducting a history
- Students will be attentive to both spoken and unspoken “cues” from the patient
- Students will explore family, community and cultural factors that may be influencing a patient’s illness experience, e.g., financial issues, health care beliefs
- Students will develop collaborative management plans that reflect awareness of patient, family, and cultural factors that are likely to influence success
- Students will facilitate the participation of family members(s) or significant others to ensure optimal care
- Students will provide anticipatory health care, e.g., discussion of current status and risk factors, providing age and sex appropriate education
- Students will provide patient education that includes encouraging patients to identify personally important short and longer-term health goals
- Students will provide “longitudinal” rather than episodic care for patients of all ages
- Students will coordinate the use of other professionals (e.g., physician specialists, physical and occupational therapist, social workers, community resources) to ensure comprehensive patient care
|
4,6,7
|
1a,1k,2b,2e,2g, 3c,6f |
Knowledge
|
Performance Objective |
Evaluation Method |
Graduation
Competency |
- Students will have a working knowledge and understanding of how to diagnose and manage the following conditions in an ambulatory setting
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- Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus
- Atherosclerotic disease-peripheral, coronary, cerebral and its sequelae
- Upper and lower respiratory tract infections, Asthma, COPD
- Substance abuse, including drugs, alcohol and tobacco
- Musculoskeletal disorders, including low back pain, soft tissue injuries and arthritis
- Common endocrine disorders, particularly thyroid disease
- Common dermatologic conditions
- Headaches, particularly the difference between migraine and tension
- Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV
- Depression and anxiety
- Women’s health issues, including contraception
- Urinary tract infections
- Abdominal pain and its causes, including gastroenteritis, GERD, and PUD
- Diarrhea
- Well-child care
|
4,6,7 |
2a,2b,2c,2f |
- Students understand the principles of Health Promotion
|
|
4,6,7 |
2c,2b |
- Students understand the principles of Disease prevention.
|
|
4,6,7 |
2b |
Skillfulness |
Performance Objective |
Evaluation
Method |
Graduation
Competency |
- Students will diagnose and manage common acute and chronic ambulatory problems in a well-reasoned manner.
|
- Students will conduct a focused history, guided by diagnostic hypotheses formulated as the case unfolds
- Students will group patient data in contrasting categories (e.g., chronic vs. acute, intermittent vs. constant) when refining diagnostic thinking
- Students will perform a “thinking” physical examination to rule in or rule out leading diagnostic possibilities
- Students will develop a complete problem list
- Students will develop an assessment that compares and contrasts diagnostic possibilities and argues for a leading diagnosis
- Students will order tests and other diagnostic procedures judiciously, with a clearly formulated rationale for each
- Students will detail management plans with defined endpoints for each identified patient problem
- Students will write problem-oriented notes
|
4,6,7 |
1a,1b,1c,1d,1e,1f,1g, 1h,1j,1k,2a,2b,2f |
Dutiful |
Performance Objective |
Evaluation
Method |
Graduation
Competency |
Students will recognize and address personal knowledge, skill, and/or reasoning gaps that arise during patient encounters. |
- An increase over the course of the clerkship in self-assessment and self-directed learning activity
- Ability to relate results of self-directed learning efforts to future practice
- Increased valuing of self-assessment and self-directed learning
|
4,6,7 |
3a,3b,3c,3d,3e |