Description

This one-to-four-week clerkship takes place at the Family Medicine Residency continuity clinic in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on the Luther Campus. Students will provide the full spectrum of preventive, acute, and chronic care for infants, children, young adults, pregnant people, and older adults.

Specific goals

1. Assess and manage the most common chronic diseases, e.g. depression, anxiety, diabetes, chronic pain, and hypertension.
2. Refine history-taking and physical examination skills.
3. Set an agenda with patients to prioritize their concerns.
4. Identify the appropriate timeline for testing, treatment, and follow-up.
5. Locate and describe recommended screenings for specific patient demographics and conduct risk-benefit discussions.
6. Perform common office procedures, e.g. skin biopsies, pap tests, large joint injections, etc.
7. Communicate with patients in a patient-oriented manner about results and recommendations for treatment in person, by phone, and the electronic medical record.
8. Efficiently document outpatient clinical encounters addressing multiple acute and chronic conditions.

Activity outline

• Students are paired one-on-one with a faculty or senior family medicine resident where they are expected to see two to three patients per half-day.
• Students are expected to review the person’s chart, independently perform the history and physical, formulate a differential diagnosis, diagnostic/monitoring plan, therapeutic plan, and identify recommended preventive health screenings.
• The student will discuss the management plan with their supervising physician who will also see the patient. Students will discuss recommended testing and treatment with patients.
• Students will have opportunities to perform procedures.
• Students will write a progress note on each patient that they see.
• Students may be asked to follow up with patients by phone or the electronic medical record regarding results or subsequent patient questions or concerns.

Method of evaluation

Students are encouraged to share their learning goal(s) at the start of each clinic session. Students will be given in-the-moment feedback, feedback at the end of each clinic session, via the electronic medical record, and by written evaluation at the end of the rotation.

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.