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The MUSC
Family Medicine and Deans' Rural Primary Care Clerkships
merged in 2003 to form the Family Medicine Rural
Clerkship.
Students will develop a strong
understanding of the clinical issues and professional role
of a primary care physician. In addition, the
clerkship will train students in the population health perspective by
teaching them how to apply the principles of population health and
continuous quality
improvement in the provision of health care services.
This
program would not be possible without the assistance
of the dedicated physicians and their staffs in rural
practices across the state, as well as the South Carolina Area Health
Education Consortium and its Family Medicine
Residency Programs throughout the state. The students and
staff at MUSC extend their deepest appreciation to all
of these health care professionals.
What students are involved?
All
third year students at MUSC are required to participate
in the clerkship as part of the junior year curriculum.
How long is the clerkship and where do the students go?
The clerkship is six weeks long. The students will
receive clinical experience in family medicine practices throughout
South
Carolina, and will attend didactics/hands-on workshops in Charleston
conducted by faculty members in the MUSC Department of Family
Medicine. Students will also have the option (one day during the
6-week rotation) to attend special activities/clinics at the SC AHEC
Family Medicine Residencies in Anderson, Greenwood, Spartanburg, and Florence.
What will students be doing during the clerkship?
Students
as Learners of Clinical Medicine
- Students
will participate in clinical patient care
activities with the practice's physicians and health care
providers. Activities include interviewing and examining
patients, performing routine lab tests and interpreting their results
under supervision, attending hospital rounds, nursing home visits.
Students
as Trainees of the Population Health Perspective
- Students
will participate in community-oriented
program activities such as home interviews with patients and their
families from the practice and participation in a community-based
project. Students are expected to immerse themselves in
community life during the clerkship in order to understand the role of
the physician in the community beyond that of a health care provider.
Students as
Participants in Clerkship Didactic Activities
- MUSC
students are
required to attend didactic activities in the MUSC Department of Family
Medicine
in Charleston. The purpose is to broaden students' knowledge of
the
basic science and clinical issues associated with family medicine.
- Students are
expected to meet with the office manager or business person at the
practice to acquire information and insight into the management aspects
of the practice.
What are the objectives of the clerkship?
At
the end of the clerkship, students should be able to:
- Understand
and manage acute, chronic and preventive care for
patients in rural primary care settings;
- Apply
community-oriented primary care principles to improve
the health and health care of populations;
- Utilize the
continuous improvement process and associated
tools to evaluate and assist with the care of people with a specific
health problem (e.g., rural people with diabetes);
- Recognize
the influence of socioeconomic and cultural issues
on access to, and the provision and acceptance of health care services.
- Collaborate
with interdisciplinary health care team members
on the provision of health care to patients and the community.
- Apply
medical informatics skills for retrieval and
management of
biomedical information.
- Understand
practice management issues relevant to primary
care practices in rural areas.
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