Clinical Sciences
Clinical Skills. Rotations. Clerkships.
Clinical Sciences equips students with knowledge pertaining to training in clinical skills, patient contact and medical practice. The curriculum includes Five (5) Semesters of Clinical Core and Electives Rotations. The Program involves a Fifth Semester at the Main Campus and Semesters of Core and Elective Rotations at numerous QUCOM ACGME Accredited US-Based Affiliated Teaching Hospitals. After completing Basic Sciences and passing USMLE Step 1 CK, CS Exams, QUCOM students advance to the Clinical Phase of the Program. During Core Clerkship Year and Elective Rotations, students gain valuable training, develop clinical skills, learn to be a part of a medical team, and train alongside Residents and Attending Physicians in each Core Specialty.
Clinical Cores
The 3rd Year involves 48 weeks of Core Clinical Rotations completed in ACGME Accredited US Teaching Hospitals although up to 12 weeks may be completed in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Caribbean when affiliation agreements are established in those jurisdictions.
Clinical Electives
The 4th and Final Year involves clinical hospital rotations in 27 weeks of elective specialty and subspecialty rotations which are chosen by the student and approved through the Office of the Dean. QUCOM requires students to complete the 27 weeks of elective rotations (typically) in four-week blocks. Medical Students may elect Specialty and Subspecialty Rotations and the Clinical Elective Rotations do not need to follow the order of disciplines listed below.
Addiction Medicine
Adolescent Medicine
Adolescent Psychiatry
Adult Pain Management
Ambulatory Medicine
Anesthesiology
Burn Surgery
Cardiology
Chemical Dependency
Child Psychiatry
Clinical Research
Colorectal Surgery
Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program
Critical Care
Dermatology
Emergency Medicine
Endocrinology
Family Medicine
Forensic Pathology
Gastroenterology
Hematology
Infectious Disease
Nephrology
Occupational Medicine
Ophthalmology
Orthopedic Medicine
Orthopedic Surgery
Radiology
Urology
Clinical Cores Descriptions
During your 12 week medicine rotation (inpatient and ambulatory), you are expected to meet and exceed the following requirements and challenge yourself, to be proactive learners and ask questions. The objectives of the clerkship are to develop proficiency in approaching the diagnosis and therapy of serious medical illness, to foster an appreciation of disease as the expression of deranged physiology, to inculcate habits of critical inquiry and self-education, and to enhance an appreciation of the physician’s responsibility to the patient. Inpatient teaching is carried out on rounds with house staff and attending physicians and at conferences and lectures specifically organized for the clerks. Each student must undertake a systematic program of daily reading in standard texts and journals. Students will also be provided with exposure in ambulatory settings, with teaching conducted by the preceptor and/or residents, in both hospital clinic venues and preceptor faculty practices.
The Internal Medicine clerkship was developed to teach students the basic skills needed to succeed in all other rotations and beyond. Students will learn techniques for gathering clinical information in the form of Patient History and Physical Examinations. They will learn how to interpret and evaluate basic foundational tests such as the EKG, radiographs and laboratory tests. They will learn to take the information gathered and turn it into a comprehensive active and inactive problem list with an insightful and appropriate Differential Diagnosis. Students will develop Plans for Management to include diagnostic, short and long term therapeutic measures as well as patient education. Learning how to become a proficient documenter is a critical requirement for our students so that they can graduate QUCOM knowing how to produce accurate and thorough patient records. Proper communication skills will be taught at each step through formal case presentations, calling consults, sign-out rounds and discharge planning rounds.
Internal Medicine - 12 weeks
Surgery - 12 weeks
Students are exposed to a variety of clinical scenarios where surgery is recommended as a course of action. The focus will not only be on surgical techniques, but also the pathophysiology of surgical disease, as well as pre and post-operative therapies. During this time, students will be required to compile both short and detailed patient histories as well as perform actual physical examinations. Students will perform two exams per week on surgical services patients and follow them through their surgery and post-operative care. This includes mandatory operating room attendance for those patients where the student obtained admission history and performed the pre-operative physical examination.
The class is very practical in that students will assist in the operating room to gain an understanding of real life basic surgical techniques, surgical discipline in relation to asepsis, and care of the unconscious patient. Students will be trained to recognize the most common post-operative complications. Students will be required to perform patient follow-up to include pathological evaluation, radiology and rehabilitation medicine where applicable. There will also be opportunity to work on manual skills such as venipuncture, placing and removing sutures, and urethral catheterization. Students will be closely supervised at the start of this rotation but will migrate towards indirect supervision as skills develop and the course progresses.
Pediatrics - 6 weeks
The study of children, their physical, mental and emotional development, is the focus of the Pediatric rotation. Students will study common childhood diseases and disorders so that they can diagnosis, manage and learn how they can be prevented. Students will learn the developmental stages, from newborn through adolescence, as well as the medical, social and educational factors that can influence. The special needs of the handicapped child will be included. Throughout the course, the importance of “bedside manor” and patient empathy will be instilled. Reading for this course will focus on the normal child, taking history, the physical examination, the principles of infant feeding, how children respond to illness and hospitalization as well as fluid and drug therapies. Upon successful completion, students will be able to examine children of all ages and collect the appropriate clinical and pediatric information needed to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan that can be easily explained to both parents and the young patient, where appropriate.
Obstetrics/Gynecology - 6 weeks
This clinical rotation provides students with the knowledge to treat and diagnosis various gynecological disorders as well as pregnancy, from start to end, including normal/abnormal development, labor, delivery and the puerperium. Students become proficient in taking patient histories and performing pelvic exams that include the use of the speculum and obtaining cervical cultures. Patient care in the operating and delivery rooms is also covered.
Students witness labor, delivery of cases, installation of intravenous infusions, recording of portograms and help with problems associated with anesthesia. Students will visit specialty clinics concerned with pre- and post-natal care, family planning, infertility, and high-risk cases. The program is taught though a combination of lectures, teaching rounds as well as attending conferences. Students are expected to follow their patients’ progress carefully and read about their condition. Public health issues regarding reproduction, maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, sexually transmitted disease, cancer detection, and human sexuality will all be addressed.
Psychiatry - 6 weeks
No study of the body would be complete without an understanding of psychological factors in physical illness. Students will learn important concepts as well as how to perform a mental status examination, compile a full psychiatric history, determine a differential diagnosis and suggest methods of treatment. Students will familiarize themselves with the major psychiatric syndromes with childhood onset, how to detect and treat them and manage emergencies.
Students will attend ward rounds and outpatient sessions. They will be assigned at least one patient per week where they will perform a full work-up, discuss examination findings and track patient progress throughout the duration of the rotation. Mandatory attendance at case conferences and seminars is required. It is recommended that students partake in group sessions such as, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, group therapy as well as pre and post discharge group management.
Family Medicine - 6 weeks
This clerkship is an introduction to the aspects of family medicine that are applicable to all fields of medical practice, including the comprehensive and continuous care provided by family physicians to patients of all ages. Topics include recognizing the impact of chronic illness on patients and their families as well as cultural considerations and practicing in a diverse population. Students will be taught how to operate with the highest standards of professional behavior and clinical competence
Learning will take place at Hospitals, Family Medicine outpatient facilities, residency programs, emergency rooms, and family medicine community preceptor’s offices. Faculty will educate and provide feedback on student’s patient visits, attend teaching rounds, and attend didactic lectures. Students will keep an electronic log of patient encounters and present cases to Clinical Preceptors. Emphasis will be placed on continuity of care, communication skills, and the integration of medical care, preventive medicine and problem solving. Students will be required to take the NBME exam. This rotation will increase medical knowledge, foster the development of clinical skills as well as professional demeanor.
Medical Knowledge: Topics will include the study of normal psychosocial development at various stages of life. Understanding the role of a healthy lifestyle and preventive medicine in decreasing the risk of disease. Learning about the epidemiology of common disorders in diverse populations, how to detect and reduce their incidence. How to educate outpatients to care for themselves effectively. Addressing the special needs of the geriatric population with short and long-term treatment plans.
Clinical Skills: Students will develop the ability to utilize evidence-based decision making in clinical practice. They will identify and develop strategies for the issues underlying a patient’s visit. Compiling patient history and performing physical exams in order to diagnose and treat patients in the family medicine office will be a focus. This clerkship will also cover principles of End of Life, Hospice and Palliative Care.
Professional Behavior: Students will need to demonstrate empathy and respect for all races and cultural backgrounds regardless of social economic status or sexual orientation. They will hold themselves to a strict code of ethics supported by accountability, dependability, responsibility and the ability to recognize ones limitations and seek help. Our students must show humility, compassion, integrity and honesty when dealing with patients, colleagues and the healthcare team. This rotation will promote pro-active health and wellness for the future doctor as well as the patients that they treat and their colleagues.