Third-Year Clerkship
Family Medicine 300 (Principles and Practice of Family Medicine), 152 hours.
This required clerkship provides third-year medical students with an introduction to the principles of Family Medicine as practiced in a community-based ambulatory setting or in a residency program. The student is assigned to a clinical faculty member, aslo known as a preceptor, within the state. He or she spends most of the four weeks working directly in office-based patient care under the supervision of the preceptor. During this rotation, the student has the opportunity to see patients of all ages as they present with any of the broad range of medical problems seen by family physicians. It will be significantly different from most other clinical rotations that are part of the junior year in medical school. For one thing, it is primarily in the outpatient setting, rather than hospital based; therefore, the type of medical problems that students will see and the dynamics of the health-care delivery will be different. The patients, who present, will come with common problems (i.e. sore throat, cough, abdominal pain, etc.), chronic problems (i.e. diabetes, asthma, hypertension, arthritis, COPD, etc), and undifferentiated problems. In addition, you will see patients requesting preventive services (i.e. PAP smear, well child visit, sports physical, etc). Any and all of these may have easily treated biomedical etiologies, have psychosocial dimensions, or be the first symptom of serious illness. Students will see patients that the doctor has known for years as well as ones coming in for the first time. They will see the doctor caring for whole families - sometimes over several generations. In addition, students will be able to appreciate the interactions of a family physician with other specialists, support staff, ancillary health-care providers, and a variety of community resources. Because the practice of Family Medicine differs from that of the hospital-based, tertiary care, this clerkship has something unique to offer regardless of career choice. Students will be afforded an in-depth view of ambulatory care and the manner in which family physicians practice. Teaching activities include faculty-conducted presentations and clinical encounters including a musculoskeletal workshop, supplemented by recommended readings. Evaluation is based on the demonstration of clinical skills as observed by clinical teachers, successful completion of a class project, and satisfactory performance on the Modular Examination in Family Medicine of the National Board of Medical Examiners.Practices in under-served areas, both rural and urban, are included as possible sites.
Placement Options:
We have Baton Rouge area opportunities, but you must have your own housing. Students assigned to the Baton Rouge campus will be placed in Baton Rouge unless they ask for a different location and it is available.
We have placements in the New Orleans area that require some Spanish-speaking ability, one of which requires Spanish fluency. If you have these skills and would like to be considered for a placement, please indicate that when sent the geographical preference email.
Please note: While we consider all preferences in determining placement location, we place students based upon the educational experiencerequired for the clerkship and not your preference. Students will be assigned to the Bogalusa, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, and Alexandria areas. Free housing is available in Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Bogalusa, and Alexandria.
Time-Off Requests:
The school policy requires that if you need to take any time off during the clerkship, you must ask permission for time-off prior to the first day of the clerkship. Time-off requests must be done in writing or by e-mail. Requests must be sent to the Clerkship Director Dr. Pamela Wiseman at pwise1@lsuhsc.edu. Non-emergency time-off requests after the clerkship has started will most likely not be granted. By school policy, absences of greater than two days may have to be remediated.
If you have any problems or concerns about the clerkship, contact us immediately. We are here to assist your education at LSU. Enjoy your Family Medicine clerkship!
Clerkship Coordinator:
Veronica Marquez, MHS
Student Clerkship Coordinator
Phone: (504) 568-2162
Fax: (504) 568-6793
Email: vmarqu@lsuhsc.edu