Internal Medicine Clerkships

Clerkship Structure

Inpatient Medicine I

You will participate in 6 weeks of inpatient medicine during the Internal Medicine clerkship. You will spend six (6) weeks as a member of an inpatient team consisting of clerkship phase students, a faculty attending, a resident, and one to two interns. One of the primary responsibilities of the resident, in addition to the overall supervision of the medical team, is to teach and supervise medical students. Your resident will select appropriate patients for you to manage and will aid you in fulfilling the goals covered in the Clerkship Objectives. You are expected to perform a complete history and physical examination on all patients during the rotation. It is important to remember that an attending or resident must countersign all histories, physicals, orders, progress notes, and discharge summaries.

Internal Medicine II

During the Internal Medicine Sub-Internship, you will become a member of an inpatient wards team. Teams at LA General Medical Center, Keck Hospital, Kern Medical, and Kaiser Hospital will have multiple medical students, residents, and an attending physician. Teams at Verdugo Hills Hospital and Arcadia Hospital consist of a Sub-Intern and an attending physician. One of the resident’s primary responsibilities is teaching and supervising medical students. Your resident/attending will select appropriate patients for you to manage and aid you in fulfilling the goals covered in the Clerkship Objectives. It is important to remember that an attending or resident must countersign all histories and physicals, orders, progress notes, and discharge summaries. Students will have the ability to work on two different shift schedules, Day-Shift and Swing-Shift, while on service.

Ambulatory Rotation

Junior medical students spend 50% of their General Medicine Clerkship in the offices of community-based internists. Junior students are assigned to participating internists in four-week blocks and are included in all aspects of a community-based practice. Senior students’ experiences are designed as a sub-internship and are 100% inpatient.

Curriculum

Didactic Sessions

Junior and senior medical students participate in a structured case-based curriculum developed from a template sponsored by the Clerkship Directors of Internal Medicine. Third-year medical students participate in eleven hours of case-based sessions with internal medicine faculty during the first few days of the clerkship. In addition, junior students have a problem-solving session with Dr. Sonia Lin. In addition, all students meet at least once weekly for a total of two-hours of case-based teaching with their respective faculty attending the General Medicine service.

Patient-Based Learning

Junior and senior medical students are assigned to work directly with attending physicians and residents in the provision of patient care in both ambulatory and inpatient venues. In the inpatient setting, patients are assigned to students upon admission (third-year students receiving one to two admissions each call night, and fourth-year students receiving two to three, typically more challenging, admissions). They perform histories, physical examinations and common procedures. The students present their patients on rounds, make daily assessments and write daily progress notes and orders. The attending physician and senior residents provide supervision. During ambulatory assignments, students are integrated into all aspects of patient care delivery and practice management.