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M3 Year


6 weeks weeks weeks weeks week 6 weeks 6 weeks weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks
Internal Medicine Surgery OB/GYN Pediatrics Winter
Break

Psychiatry

(4 weeks)

SW Research/
Service Learning

(2 weeks)

Neurology

(4 weeks)

Anesthesiology

(2 weeks)

Family Medicine & Adult Primary Care Electives Step II Prep
Scholar's Workshop III
Ambulatory Clerkship III

Course Descriptions

Internal Medicine Clerkship

The M3 Internal Medicine Clerkship is one of the core components of the third-year medical education program. It enables medical students to develop the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to provide compassionate, comprehensive, and evidence-based care for patients presenting with various acute and chronic disease processes with a focus on meeting the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of a diverse patient population. Each student is assigned to a medical teaching service team for each week of the clerkship, which is composed of five weeks on the daytime medical teaching service and one week on the night medicine service. The medical teaching service team consists of one teaching attending, a senior PGY-2/-3 resident, an intern, two third-year medical students, and possibly one fourth-year sub-intern. The student is expected to be an active participant in all clinical and educational activities. These activities include, but are not limited to:

  • Direct patient care for both established and newly admitted patients
  • Teaching rounds
  • Case discussions
  • Clinical skills rounds
  • Transitions of care rounds
  • Conferences & didactic sessions
  • Simulation activities

Students are expected to be able to take a goal-directed medical interview, perform a hypothesis-driven physical examination, and develop and utilize clinical reasoning skills to formulate a differential diagnosis and diagnostic and management plan.

Surgery Clerkship

The M3 Surgery Clerkship provides third year medical students with the opportunity to develop skills in the diagnosis and management of conditions encountered and treated by surgeons. This includes seeing patients for initial consultation, participating in their diagnostic evaluation, recommending options for management, and being a part of the surgical team in the operating rooms. Students participate in post-operative care and learn about post-operative complications of surgical interventions.

Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) Clerkship

The M3 Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship provides students with the opportunity to work in a medical specialty that provides basic medical care and patient education to women of all ages. The clerkship introduces students to the diagnosis and management of common obstetrical and gynecologic conditions. Students develop an understanding of the management of the typical medical and surgical problems that occur in a woman’s lifespan, from birth through menopause. It aligns with the CMSRU medical education program objectives and conforms to the standards set by the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO). There are several components that incorporate obstetrics on the labor floor, antepartum and postpartum floors, and gynecologic surgery patients in the hospital. This provides experience with patients with specific illnesses and syndromes followed at points during their inpatient care, allowing for exposure to the full spectrum of obstetrics and gynecology. Students are expected to develop basic clinical knowledge in the following areas:

  • General Obstetrics
  • High Risk Obstetrics (Maternal-Fetal Medicine)
  • Benign Gynecology
  • Gynecologic Oncology
  • Menopause
  • Urogynecology (Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive surgery)
  • Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
  • Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
  • Sexuality
  • Violence Against Women

Students have the opportunity to develop the basic skills necessary to diagnose and treat conditions of the female reproductive system. Students develop an understanding of the management of the typical medical and surgical problems that occur throughout the course of a woman’s lifespan, including those related to development, menarche, pregnancy, labor and delivery, and menopause.

Pediatrics Clerkship

The M3 Pediatrics Clerkship prepares students to work with children and adolescents in the inpatient and outpatient settings. CMSRU medical students have opportunities in the NICU, Mother Infant Units, general pediatrics, out-patient pediatric experiences with subspecialists, and in the pediatric emergency room.

Psychiatry Clerkship

The M3 Psychiatry Clerkship is designed for third year medical students to develop proficiency in the evaluation and management of common acute, subacute, and chronic psychiatric issues. There is a focus on patient-centered medical care, psychosocial/behavioral issues, cost containment, and the interprofessional approach to patient care. Students experience the intricacies of the mental health system locally, regionally and statewide. During this rotation, students will get exposure to the psychiatric inpatient unit, the medical/surgical floor consultation liaison service, addiction medicine, and outpatient psychiatry.

Scholar's Workshop III/Service Learning

The Scholars Workshop course is a four-year longitudinal curriculum that addresses biostatistics, epidemiology, quality and patient safety, health care disparities, research, research ethics, and other related topics. A culminating capstone project is completed in the M3 and M4 years; the capstone includes a thesis and poster presentation.

Neurology Clerkship

The M3 Neurology Clerkship permits students to experience the discipline of Neurology in an inpatient setting under the supervision of assigned preceptors. The neurology clerkship services consist of the following teams: A) stroke, B) general neurology service and consultation, C) Neurocritical care, D) Tele-neurology, and E) Neurosurgery. Students are assigned patients to evaluate and follow, consisting of a mix of new evaluations/admissions and follow-up patients. Students are expected to be able to take an accurate history, perform a focused yet relevant physical examination, a detailed neurological examination, and formulate an initial differential diagnosis from their clinical experiences in the first and second years of their medical education program.

Anesthesiology

The M3 Anesthesiology Clerkship is one of the core components of the third year curriculum.  The students will spend the majority of their time working in the operating room, labor and delivery suite, and the pain management procedure room. The emphasis of this rotation will be on perioperative medicine and the perioperative management of patients. Students will learn the impacts that acute and chronic disease have on perioperative care.

Family Medicine and Adult Primary Care Clerkship

The M3 Family Medicine and Adult Primary Care Clerkship is one of the core ambulatory components of the third year of the medical education program. Students are assigned to rotate in a Family Medicine office and Adult Primary Care office. They will attend formal conferences/didactic sessions each week. Students are expected to be able to take an accurate history, perform a complete physical examination, and formulate an initial differential diagnosis based on their clinical experiences in the first and second years of their medical education program.

Electives

Students have the opportunity to complete a total of four weeks of electives during the M3 year. Students choose from a wide variety of electives at CMSRU. The elective courses are intended to provide M3 students with early exposure to areas of interest, to enrich their understanding of clinical medicine, and help them plan their career path.