Clinical Medicine

Students build on skills acquired in physical diagnosis to include the completion of a thorough history and physical examination of primarily adult patients.

Students will be part of the clinical management team and given responsibilities for certain aspects of direct patient care under the close supervision of a preceptor. Students will have clerkship experiences in both inpatient and ambulatory care settings.

Lectures will include the management of commonly encountered disease processes as well as an introduction to the use of diagnostic procedures.

Students will be given direct assignments for research and expected to present them at clinical conferences.

Students will be introduced to disease processes which require various levels of surgical intervention.

Initially, students will be taught the policies and procedures of the operating room to include scrubbing and the maintaining of sterile technique.

They will have opportunities to do pre-surgical histories and physical examinations. Opportunities will be provided for direct practice of simple procedures such as suturing, debridement and wound care.

Students will be able to observe and assist during various procedures in the operating room and participate in the follow-up and treatment of the post surgical patient in the hospital and in ambulatory practice settings.

Students will be introduced to the normal course of pregnancy to include pre-natal care, labor, delivery and the postpartum period.

Students will be taught the fundamentals of a proper obstetric and gynecologic history and examination. Observation and participation in a number of live births will be provided. Students will also have lectures and direct experience with various disease processes and complications of pregnancy and delivery.

Students will learn the fundamentals of family planning and dealing with patients with sexually transmitted diseases.

This clinical rotation introduces the student to the challenging medical treatment of infants, children and adolescents. Students will initially learn to take histories and perform physical examinations on well infants and children in inpatient and outpatient clinic settings.

The diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses will be emphasized but the student will have an opportunity to learn about the more rare congenital as well as acquired disorders.

In a primarily institutional setting, the student will learn about the major psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, affective and anxiety disorders. Special emphasis will be placed on the difference between organic and functional mental illnesses through taking a proper psychiatric history and performing a mental status examination.

Students will be instructed in the judicious use of major classes of psychotropic medications.

The total of elective rotations must be a minimum of 30 weeks. All students must complete 4 weeks of a Primary Care Elective. Students who plan to practice in California or Texas must take four weeks of Family Medicine in a hospital having an appropriately credentialed residency training program.

Highly recommended electives include:

• Cardiology
• Family Medicine
• Dermatology
• Emergency Medicine
• Anesthesiology
• Intensive Care Medicine
• Neurology
• Pathology
• Plastic Surgery
• Radiology
• Urology
• Vascular Surgery

Your USMLE Step 2 is a a two-part exam: Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills. The Clinical Knowledge section is a similar format to USMLE Step 1 in that the exam tests for clinical understanding of medical theory applied in a clinical setting. It uses the multiple-choice examination format to test clinical knowledge. The Clinical Skills section uses standardized patients to test medical students and graduates on their ability to be patient-centered, to address the diagnostic challenges posed, to prepare the patient for next steps, and to document the encounter appropriately.

During your core clinical rotations, you will consolidate your medical knowledge, which will help you score highly on the USMLE Step 2. The clinical rotations will expose you to case work, exams and preceptor feedback, all of which will contribute to preparing you for the USMLE Step 2.

The USMLE Step 2 exam is important for securing your preferred residency placement. In order to acquire your medical license, you’ll need to have passed USMLE Step 1 and both components of USMLE Step 2. Passing is also a requirement for graduation.

Amongst many of the factors that a residency program will consider in its applicants, performance on all licensing exams is the first consideration. Criteria that will be reviewed include how many attempts at passing were needed on the USMLE 1 and 2 and scores on these exams. Therefore select a medical program that will prepare you for these exams.