Students also may spend time seeing patients in emergency room, hospital, nursing home settings and taking call with residents and practicing physicians. A high volume of patients of all ages with a wide range of problems is encountered. Many patients will have undifferentiated problems. Internal Medicine Clerkship Students spend eight weeks on the internal medicine inpatient service at University Hospital and Harry S. Truman Veterans Hospital, where they learn to care for adult patients with acute and chronic illnesses. Teaching emphasizes the principles of differential diagnosis and problem solving as well as the integration of basic science information into the art of patient care.
Students also gain clinical experience in medical interviewing and physical examination.
In addition, they attend lectures and interactive case presentations. They may elect to participate in a four-week pediatric neurology rotation in place of the adult neurology rotation. Surgery Clerkship Emphasis is placed on the diagnosis and treatment of disorders requiring surgical intervention. Each student has a faculty mentor-adviser, attends faculty discussion sessions that cover objectives in the required textbooks and takes call under the supervision of surgical residents. Students are assigned patients from all surgical specialties, participate in preoperative examinations and evaluations, assist during surgical procedures and follow the postoperative management process.