Students considering off-site rotations will be expected to have a clear idea of how these experiences will offer unique advantages to their personal and professional development, and how they will meet the course criteria. Many off-site locations used in the past for the Ambulatory Primary Care Clerkship or Family Medicine Preceptorship will not satisfy the externship requirement. They still offer excellent experiences and could be taken as electives. A list of these IHS sites and the students' evaluations are available in the course office. These offer high volume and high levels of responsibility.
Planning often needs to begin early in the third year.
IHS Information and IHS reading list are available in M231 for review. Not all IHS sites will meet the externship criteria. Students on the off-site track will be evaluated with respect to their ability to collect, process, and analyze information, engage in clinical reasoning, and formulate appropriate diagnoses and treatment plans. The Department of Family and Community Medicine has had many years of experiences with the evaluation of students in off-site practices. We will build on this extensive experience to further develop a comprehensive and accurate process of evaluation.