M3 Year

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. 

Community Medicine
During this two-week experience, medical students will 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 in a community setting.

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.

Ambulatory Clerkship III
Ambulatory Clerkship is a three-year interprofessional course where students work in teams of M1, M2, and M3 students to provide patient care free of charge for uninsured patients at the Cooper Rowan Clinic. Clinical faculty and residents supervise the medical students. The medical student teams provide care based upon their level of proficiency within their curricular year. M1 students handle history taking; M2 students the physical examination; and M3 students fill in gaps as necessary based on the time of year and ability of the M1 and M2 students to complete an examination, in addition to reporting out to the faculty and leading the discussion for the differential diagnosis and treatment plan. Medical student teams work with University of the Sciences PharmD students (P1, P2, and P3 levels), who provide patient education and assist with medication choices, dosage, and operation of the student-run pharmacy offered at the clinic. A Rutgers University graduate social work student is available at the clinic on a daily basis to support patients with their non-medical needs and challenges to their health care compliance, such as housing or food insecurity. Students from the Rutgers Doctor of Physical Therapy Program see patients two times per month at the Cooper Rowan Clinic. They work with patients with a wide variety of conditions, including musculoskeletal and nerve injuries, arthritis and chronic pain. Faculty from all programs (medicine, pharmacy, social work, nursing, and physical therapy) work with and teach all students involved at the clinic.