Working with attending faculty, fellows and residents the student will become a member of the ICU rounding team. He or she will be responsible for up to 3 patients at any time. The student will become familiar with the types of illness and treatment interventions that are commonly encountered in the ICU population.
Emphasis is placed on thought processes in formulating differential diagnosis and treatment plan.
The student should have little difficulty becoming comfortable with interpreting EKG, arterial blood gas, portable chest x-ray, electrolyte disturbances, respiratory and hemodynamic measurements as well as means for nutritional support. This skill should be uniformly applicable in most areas of medicine. Timely discussions involving the ethical dilemmas involved in intensive care medicine will add to the student's exposure. To understand normal and abnormal physiology and recognize the clinical presentation and etiology of critical care illnesses involving various organ system dysfunctions. To improve the clinical skills, including the history and physical examination of patients, to understand the principles of clinical diagnosis and to appreciate the indications and limitations of laboratory methods.