Students function in the externship capacity, under the guidance of the attending physician. Students assist in the history and examination of patients. They also attend motion analysis sessions and contribute as their experience dictates. Students work with the attending physician and any resident or fellows that are on staff at the time. Furthermore, they are exposed to physical therapy and water exercise therapy and the professionals that work in each of these areas.
Evaluation is done by the preceptor at midpoint of the rotation and at the end of the rotation.
Offered each quarter. The course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of the multifaceted treatment of cancer pain, including the appropriate use of medications and anesthetic and surgical procedures. This elective can also expose the student to rehabilitation of disabilities caused by cancer or its treatment. The may choose to spend the entire rotation with the Pain and Symptom Management Service, the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, or spend two weeks in each realm. This elective helps the student advance their skills in the physical diagnosis of pain, enhance their knowledge pharmacology of opiates and other pain medications, and increase their understanding of pain of mechanisms and neurologic pathways involved.