Course Objectives

Specific learning Objectives (SLO)

These clerkship objectives reflect the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the overall COM.

By the completion of the clerkship, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of Ambulatory Internal Medicine
1.1 Demonstrate the ability to conduct a focused medical history and targeted physical examination appropriate to the patient’s chief complaint(s) and the history of the present illness(es) in internal medicine
1.2 Demonstrate the ability to apply appropriate clinical pharmacological principles in the selection of drugs to treat common internal medicine problems
1.3 Choose principles of evidence-based medicine in making diagnostic and management decisions in internal medicine
1.4 Demonstrate the ability to apply appropriate clinical pharmacological principles in the selection of drugs to treat common internal medicine problems
1.5 Demonstrate the ability to perform a health maintenance examination appropriate for an adult and to apply appropriate prevention and screening guidelines
1.6 Assess the importance of and screen for specific geriatric syndromes such as dementia, delirium and the propensity to fall in the older aged populations
1.7 Demonstrate the ability to document an outpatient visit using the SOAP note

 

2. Demonstrate knowledge of Inpatient Internal Medicine
2.1 Demonstrate the ability to perform an admission history and physical examination
2.2 Demonstrate facility in the application of medical informatics technology and critical appraisal of the medical literature in making diagnostic and management decisions in internal medicine
2.3 Write admission orders for common inpatient internal medicine problems
2.4 Demonstrate the ability to construct a hospital progress note

 

3. Demonstrate the ability to understand the indications, risks and benefits and be competent to his/her level of education for the following procedures
3.1 Administration of intramuscular, subcutaneous and intradermal injections
3.2 Universal precautions
3.3 Obtain wound cultures
3.4 Perform and interpret ECGs
3.5 Interpret chest x-ray

 

4. Apply the following in professional and patient interactions:
4.1 Demonstrate the ability to apply the biopsychosocial model and patient-centered clinical method to the understanding of patient presentations
4.2 Demonstrate a basic understanding of ethical principles and their applications to patient care
4.3 Demonstrate effective communication skills with a diverse array of patients, physicians and other health team members
4.4

Demonstrate a basic understanding of how age, gender, race, cultural and socioeconomic class effects the management of internal medicine patients
4.5 Using the patient’s history, physical exam, laboratory and imaging results to construct appropriate differential diagnoses
4.6 Demonstrate the ability to diagnose and construct a treatment plan for common illness in internal medicine (see Broad Topic Areas below)
4.7 Demonstrate the use of PDA resources in the clinic
4.8 Demonstrate the ability to clearly and concisely present oral summary of patients to members of the health care team in an allotted period of time
Broad Topic Areas

 

Broad Topic Areas

The student should have an understanding of the following topics, commensurate with their level of training. Students will be required to evaluate the following categories of problems/diagnoses in new or established patients:
1. Preventative Care and Health Maintenance –including screening for appropriate risk factors. Students will have the opportunity to continue disease screening from other clerkships.
2. Elder Care –focusing on geriatric syndromes such as delirium, dementia and fall risk
3. Cardiovascular Disease (for example: hypertension, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, heart failure)
4. Renal Disease (for example: acute renal failure, chronic renal failure and glomerular disease)
5. Gastrointestinal Disease (for example: abdominal pain, peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, reflux, bleeding)
6. Cerebrovascular Disease (for example: stroke, transient ischemic attack, seizure, headache)
7. Endocrinology (for example: diabetes, thyroid disease, dyslipidemia, obesity)
8. Infectious Disease (for example: hospital acquired infections, cellulitis, pneumonia, UTI, HIV/AIDS)
9. Hematology/Oncology (for example: common malignancies, anemia)
10. Musculoskeletal Disease (for example: back pain, osteoarthritis, autoimmune diseases)
11. Pulmonary Disease (for example: COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease)

 

If unable to gain access to a patient with a diagnosis in any one of the categories listed, the student will be required to complete a reading assignment or a case with a diagnosis/problem in that category. The need for completing the reading assignment will be determined by the clerkship director based on weekly reviews of the CDCS data, which will be discussed with the student on a weekly basis.