Family Medicine Predoctoral Clerkship

The third year clerkship in family medicine is designed to focus students on the family physician’s approach to the practice of medicine. This approach emphasizes the provision of continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated care for a broad spectrum of patients in the ambulatory setting. The specialty is three-dimensional, incorporating (1) clinical knowledge, (2) management and counseling skills, and (3) patient care process. While knowledge and skill may be shared with other specialties, the patient care process embodies the principles of family medicine: a focus on biopsychosocial, comprehensive, continuous care using evidence based medicine principles in a coordinated and integrated manner. Family physicians are skilled at dealing with uncertainty and working with any patient regardless of age, sex or presenting concern.

Family physicians work in both the inpatient and outpatient or ambulatory settings. Much of your ICM 2 training occurs in the inpatient setting. Appreciating differences in these two environments will be very helpful to working in our clerkship. You’ll move at a faster pace. But many of the patients are continuity patients in the clinic and their records already contain important information you would have to collect on a new patient in the hospital.

Contacts

Faculty and staff are available to answer your questions about the program: