Family Medicine Clerkship

Clerkship Director: Tobie-Lynn Smith, MD, MPH

Assistant Clerkship Director: Monica Ajinkya, MD

Clerkship Administrator: Xerxeser Kayode

Clerkship Objectives

Demonstrate the unequivocal value of primary care as an integral part of any health care system.
Teach an approach to the evaluation and initial management of acute presentations commonly seen in the office setting.
Teach an approach to the management of chronic illnesses that are commonly seen in the office setting.
Teach an approach to conducting a wellness visit for a patient of any age or gender.
Model the principles of family medicine care.
Provide instruction in historical assessment, communication, physical examination, and clinical reasoning skills.
To provide opportunities for training in rural and underserved settings.

Discuss the principles of family medicine
Gather information, formulate differential diagnoses, and propose plans for the initial evaluation and management of patients with common presentations
Manage follow-up visits with patients having one or more common chronic diseases
Develop evidence-based health promotion/disease prevention plans for patients of any age or gender
Demonstrate competency in advanced elicitation of history, communication, physical examination and critical thinking skills
Understand the critical role of family physicians within any health care system
Determine quality sources of evidence-based medical advice for primary care physicians and be able to apply them in the care of patients
Communicate effectively using electronic health records
Demonstrate the ability to complete a medical prescription
Understand the fundamental components of behavior change and motivational interviewing and know how to apply them in working with patients
Name and understand the rationale for the six core elements of the chronic care model
Be familiar with the concept of the patient centered medical home
Acquire an in-depth understanding of many common outpatient clinical problems
Evaluate and examine patients with common musculoskeletal complaints
Describe common primary and secondary dermatologic lesions in primary care and begin to understand treatment modalities for common dermatologic entities