Description

The Nephrology service is made up of patients with acute renal failure; fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base problems; renal parenchymal disease; kidney transplants; and hypertension. There are weekly conferences, including Nephrology/Hypertension Division Grand Rounds, Renal Biopsy, and Core Curriculum conferences. The Nephrology Clerkship offers daily teaching sessions provided by the attending consultants. In addition, there are educational resources available on the Brightspace virtual classroom platform that include pre-recorded Nephrology Pearls videos, a library of nephrology articles curated by the Nephrology Clerkship Director, and more.

Specific goals

1. To participate in the assessment of patients with a variety of medical and surgical problems with renal involvement.
2. To apply principles of renal physiology and acid-base metabolism to clinical medicine.
3. To evaluate tests of renal anatomy and function as they apply to patients' problems (e.g., urinalysis, renal biopsy, renal clearance, renal radiography, and angiography).
4. To demonstrate an effective approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with acute and chronic kidney disease.

Activity outline

Students attend daily rounds, work up new patients, and review their findings and management plan with the resident prior to presenting the case to the consultant. Students pre-round and write daily progress notes on their patients.

Attendance at regularly scheduled teaching conferences is required.

A specialized transplant nephrology track must be specifically requested; it provides a unique experience in the evaluation and management of transplant recipients.

Method of evaluation

The attending consultants and attending medical residents complete the evaluations, ranking students as "Honors," "Satisfactory," or "Unsatisfactory."

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.