The faculty and staff of the Department of Family and Community Medicine extend their greetings as you prepare for your Family Medicine Clerkship experience. The subtitle for your clerkship, "Increasing the Quality and Years of Healthy Life", highlights one of the clerkship objectives as well as the national agenda for healthcare. This manual addresses course requirements, directs you to evaluation forms, and contains information and material pertinent to completion of course requirements. Please review the "Course Requirements" and "Evaluation and Grade Assignment" sections to understand the overall expectations of the rotation. Course goals, learning objectives, educational methods, and assessment methods are further on the "Goals" pages. The manual and hypertext links to mandatory "Clerkship" and "Preceptor" evaluation forms, as well as some course resources, can be found at the left.
If you have not already done so, please contact your assigned preceptor immediately to confirm starting time and location and to address special needs, including housing. This might be an appropriate time to schedule a meeting between the two of you early in the first week to discuss educational goals, expectations, needs, and complete the "Learner Contract". The student/ preceptor planning session" outlines items for discussion with your preceptor during your orientation meeting. The Clinical Skills Inventory (CSI) will help you assess your educational needs and goals. Because you come to this rotation with varying prior experiences in medicine it is important that you identify your learning needs. By completing the CSI and sharing this information with your preceptor early in the clerkship you can both be alert to educational needs and opportunities. Mid-clerkship, including those of you who change your preceptor and site, review your progress toward your identified goals. Again review the CSI and, with your preceptor identify new learning goals for the remaining four weeks of the clerkship. As you review the CSI please note the focus on being observed and receiving feedback on your skills in completing the musculoskeletal assessment and the dermatological examination.
Please arrange your schedule to be available for four two-hour video-conferences during weeks one, three, five, and seven of the clerkship. The first meeting is on Thursday afternoon, July 10, beginning at 1:30pm CDT. Details regarding the first conference call can be found at http://www.mediund.nodak.edu/depts/fammed/Clerkship/conferencecall.htm. The first session is primarily orientation and an opportunity to address problems, concerns, or surprises regarding your clerkship. Topics to be addressed for later sessions are in "Group Topics". Information about the faculty on-site evaluation is on the appropriate web page or in this manual. The date for your visit will be decided early in your rotation.
Documentation of patient encounters using the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) will be addressed during our first meeting. Information about the required research project and Epidemiology lectures/meetings is addressed on the Research Project page.
For unanswered questions, concerns, or problems, call (701-777-3200), fax (701-777-3849), or E-mail at addresses listed on the "Contacts" page. Have a great Family Medicine experience!
Roger W. Schauer, MD, FAAFP
|
