Description

The clerkship in emergency medicine is a four-week clinical rotation in the Mayo Clinic Hospital - Saint Marys Campus Emergency Department. Our tertiary care facility is a Level 1 Trauma Center that cares for 90,000 patients annually. This clerkship is intended for students in the final year of undergraduate medical training. Students are integral members of the emergency department team and will evaluate and treat patients in the adult acute care areas of the emergency department over the course of 15 clinical shifts. Nonclinical responsibilities include participation with high-fidelity simulation, a case-based interactive curriculum moderated by emergency medicine (EM) faculty, a point-of-care ultrasound, and a self-directed electrocardiography curriculum.

Objectives

At the end of the Emergency Medicine clerkship, you will be able to:

1. Perform and summarize a problem-oriented history and physical examination
2. Formulate a differential diagnosis for an undifferentiated patient with a given chief complaint
3. Identify immediate life-threats for given chief complaints
4. Propose a treatment plan for a given chief complaint and working diagnosis
5. Alleviate suffering through therapeutic interventions
6. Demonstrate and perform the basic EM procedures
7. Identify and implement basic life-saving maneuvers in critically ill patients
8. Embody professionalism in every clinical encounter

Activity outline

• Attendance requirement. Attendance is required for both clinical shifts and nonclinical educational sessions.
• Clinical competence requirement. You will acquire clinical competency through independent but supervised patient care in a high acuity, high volume setting. You will see patients in an independent but supervised fashion and develop a differential diagnosis and treatment plan.
• Simulation sessions. You will participate in two simulation-based interactive sessions focusing on the management of trauma and shock, led by EM faculty
• Breakout sessions. You will participate in an EM faculty-led, case-based interactive session, as well as an introduction to point-of-care ultrasonography led by EM/ultrasound faculty. 
• Procedural competency requirement. You will perform a minimum number of laceration repairs, IV catheter insertions, phlebotomy, and urinary catheter placements. Education is provided and procedural sessions with our phlebotomy and urology technician colleagues will be scheduled.
• ECG curriculum. You will complete an asynchronous, self-directed module focused on a pragmatic approach to ECG interpretation in the emergency department.
• Board review. You will complete 200 online questions which align with the National Board of Medical Examiners format. Answers with explanations are provided so that you may learn the core content and fundamentals of Emergency medicine.

Method of evaluation

The clerkship in emergency medicine is graded on a Pass/Fail basis and is clearly indicated on the final evaluation issued by the Visiting Medical Student Clerkship Program. Mid-rotation feedback is provided to all students. Final evaluations are generated by the Clerkship Director and represent a general consensus of end-of-shift evaluations from EM faculty.

Per Mayo Clinic institutional policy, faculty and residents/fellows will not complete any outside evaluations. You will be provided with an electronic performance evaluation via Mayo Clinic’s MedHub portal. A final summative evaluation will be sent to you and your school official upon completion of your clerkship.