One of the core clerkships during Module 4, the four-week rotation in Family Medicine introduces students to the specialty and primary care. Most importantly, students are asked to implement many of the skills they learned in the first three modules of medical school.
Upon completion of this clerkship, students will acquire skills in the following areas:
- Perform a competent patient interview in the primary care setting
- Identify pertinent historical and exam elements
- Make a differential diagnosis
- Develop and implement a treatment plan
- Manage acute and chronic disease, health prevention, behavior change
Students have complimented the course on "finally being able to practice medicine and not just watch others do it". The Family Medicine clerkship occurs during a shared block with Internal Medicine. During this clerkship, students rotate to Family Medicine residency training sites, Federally Qualified Health Centers or primary care physicians’ private offices in a number of different communities. Some of the best-rated sites are located outside of Philadelphia proper and may provide housing. All sites provide the opportunity to explore ambulatory medicine away from the tertiary care environment.
List of PSOM Family Medicine Clerkship Didactics
- Clerkship Orientation
- Oral case presentations and outpatient note-writing
- Chronic Disease: Hypertension
- Chronic Disease: Diabetes
- Chronic Disease: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- Musculoskeletal Medicine: Workshop I & Workshop II
- Evidence-Based Medicine: I & II
- Prevention
- Behavior Change
- Pain and Palliative Care
- Patient Centered Medical Home
- Geriatric Assessment
- Primary Care Dermatology
- Agenda Setting
- Reproductive Health
- LGBT Health Issues
- Social Health Resources
- Abdominal Pain