ELECT EOMDB - Outpatient Medical Specialties

Primary Goals:

The goal of the selective is to give students first hand experience seeing patients in the outpatient setting. Students will be assigned new and follow-up patients in a variety of specialty clinics. While some of these patients are seen in a consultation mode, many if not most are followed with the specialty physician functioning as the primary caregiver. Such patients present a wide variety of general medical problems and issues. The selective seeks to expose students to the experience of evaluating and treating these patients under the close supervision of the specialty clinic attending physicians, all of whom are board-certified internists.

Specific Objectives:

Students will provide primary contact with patients on initial (new patient) and clinic visits under faculty supervision. Students will be responsible for the history and physical, and for creating a database and comprehensive problem list on each assigned patient. The H & P, database and problem list will be reviewed for completeness and accuracy by the faculty attending. The student will generate an evaluation and treatment plan relative to the problem list under the supervision of the faculty attending. The student will be responsible for arranging consultations, treatments, and performing all procedures on his/her patients under supervision. The specific requirements for reading, procedures, performed, etc., will vary by specialty clinic and clinic site. Students will be provided with learning objectives for each clinic experience at the beginning of the elective, including objectives related to diabetes and hypertension, which are seen in nearly all the clinics.

Resources for Learning:

The student is expected to use general reference material such as Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine and specialty texts to achieve a basic understanding of their patients’ diseases and their practical management. Some clinics will provide clinic-specific reference materials for study. The resources for the fellows, residents, attending physician and consulting physicians should be used routinely to supplement the student’s reading, as well as recourse to journal articles and internet resources as needed.

Participating Faculty: Texts:

Hands-on Experience:

Self-Directed Learning:

Evaluation:

Passing the elective will require demonstrated attendance at assigned clinics, (except for excused illness or internship interviews) and a passing score on an oral examination covering study questions and learning objectives from the clinic experiences.