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RETURNING TO CLINICS

Coming back to clinics after defending your dissertation is a big transition.  This site includes:

• General guidelines about timing
• Clinical activities and refresher options
• Other resources and sources of advice

GENERAL TIMING GUIDELINES

One of the most commonly asked questions is “when do I need to defend if I want to graduate the following year?”  The answer to this is different for different students.  If you are unsure of what field you want to go into and/or did not have strong clinical grades before you started the PhD and/or are going into an especially competitive field and want time to do an additional research project in that area and/or are choosing an early match field, you may need to defend in August or September of the year before you graduate.  (For instance, Aug-Sept of 2008 to graduate in May of 2010).  On the other hand, if you know what you’d like to go into and did well in clinics before the PhD, returning in December of the year before you graduate might be optimal.  If you do not plan to do a residency, an even later defense is fine.  Doing Clinical Connections and seeking out other opportunities to help you refine your career goals can make a huge difference in lessening the stress and time constraints when you return.  Maggie meets individually with everyone to discuss their return options/plans. 

CLINICAL ACTIVITIES AND REFRESHER OPTIONS

The transition back to clinics after the PhD will be smoothest if you spend some time during the thesis years keeping in touch with your clinical skills and if you allow yourself ample time for warming up before you re-enter the clerkships.

CLINICAL CONNECTIONS

In the Clinical Connections program, thesis students are matched with a physician-scientist clinical preceptor in an area of interest to them. The goals of the program are 1) to help the student to stay in touch with his/her clinical skills and knowledge base, 2) to pair the student with someone who can offer insight into physician-scientist career paths in a clinical area of interest to him/her.  More info at http://www.med.upenn.edu/mstp/connections.shtml

OTHER WAYS TO SPEND TIME IN A CLINICAL SETTING

• Volunteer for UCC or UCHC.  More info in the Student Organizations Directory at http://www.med.upenn.edu/student/student.shtml
• Make informal arrangements to spend time in the clinics with an attending or resident they know
• Attend departmental Grand Rounds in your area(s) of interest

MED 150 – 2 WEEK WARM UP COURSE

Med 150 is the two week clinical refresher course designed to assist students who are returning to the clinics after a period away.  The goal is to provide an opportunity for students to practice and regain confidence in their clinical skills. It is strongly encouraged for all returning MD-PhD students.

If you take the course, you will be assigned to an inpatient team at Pennsy. You will sharpen your ability to assess patients in the context of a hospital admission through observation. This will encompass broad-based history and physical examination skills, patient presentation, and interpretation of laboratory data. Students are expected to attend and participate in daily work and attending rounds, as well as attend the conference series required for all students and interns.  In order to get the most out of Med 150, it helps to be proactive in taking on responsibilities and asking for feedback

The Pass/Fail grade is based upon evaluations submitted by the Attending and the Resident, and will be assigned by the Chief Resident.  To arrange the course, contact the Chief Resident, Mohammed Sharif at Mohammed.Sharif@uphs.upenn.edu and Maria Hernandez (hernandz@mail.med.upenn.edu) in Suite 100, who will register you.  Students are strongly encouraged to make arrangements at least 8 weeks prior to their preferred start date.

FRIDAYS WITH FAMILY MEDICINE

An alternative warm up option is to spend Friday mornings in a family medicine practice over the course of about two months before returning to clerkships.  This can be a good option for students who will not have the time to fit in two full weeks in med 150 before returning.

OTHER RESOURCES and SOURCES OF ADVICE

ADVICE FROM STUDENTS AND FACULTY

Your peers are a great resource.  Talk to students who are already back in clinics for their advice on getting ready.  It can also help ease the stress of coming back to talk with others who will be returning at the same time as you.  You can also form a study group to help bring each other up to speed on key clinical topics and practice your presentation skills.  (You can check with Maggie to get names of other students if you don’t already happen to know them and/or use the combined degree e-mail distribution lists to connect).

Faculty advice will also help.  Skip Brass and Jen Kogan (along with Maggie and Helene Weinberg) hold a meeting in April for students who are returning later that fall.  You can also meet with Skip and/or the course director of the clerkship to which you’re returning for one-on-one advice.  All students are also encouraged to seek guidance along the way from key faculty in your chosen clinical field, once you have decided.

RECOMMENDED READING / STUDY

• Text books that include clinical vignettes, such as Lange’s Case Files series, can be especially helpful as you gear up to return to clinics
• Viewing Intro to Clinical Medicine and Differential Diagnosis lectures on line, or sitting in if the timing (2 weeks in December) works with your return schedule, can also be useful
• Reviewing notes, reading and on-line lectures from med 200 or other clerkships you’ve taken is another option
• Reading clinical journals periodically throughout your thesis years is also a way to stay in touch with clinical medicine along the way

SUITE 100

Keep an eye out for e-mails from Suite 100 about relevant issues as you get ready to return to clinics. Helene Weinberg and her staff will send out information about key scheduling deadlines, training sessions, etc. Staying on top of those deadlines and details will help make for a smooth transition into the clinics.