Clinical Experiences
The Pathway Program provides ample opportunity for primary care clinical experiences throughout your four years of medical school, including PLACE, a longitudinal pre-clerkship rotation; primary care focused core clerkships; externships in outpatient primary care; and various electives.
Students participate in the pre-clerkship longitudinal ambulatory care experience (PLACE) during the calendar year before their core clerkships (spring of MS1 and fall of MS2). The course begins with a 2.5-hour orientation focused on the introduction and practice of basic clinical skills.
For the year, students are assigned to a primary care site in their preferred specialty — family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics — where they report one to two afternoons per month. They work with one or two attending physicians, shadowing an attending during the year and discussing issues that arise. Preceptors answer questions about patient care, primary care, and doctoring in general.
The initial goal of PLACE is to increase Pathway students' confidence in discussing medical issues with patients and asking questions to understand the impact of a medical issue on a patient's life. Over time, students practice history taking and physical examination skills with guidance from their attending.
Core Clerkship Year
Students choose rotations and sites that are primary care oriented.
Externships
Students are required to do a primary care externship — an advanced rotation at an outpatient practice — in either general internal medicine, geriatrics, family medicine, or general pediatrics. We offer externships as either a traditional four-week rotation or as a longitudinal experience.
Block Externships (four weeks)
Under faculty supervision, students independently evaluate a mix of new and established patients presenting with acute or chronic conditions, taking into account disease prevention and health maintenance. Students are expected to develop plans for evaluation and management and participate in patient follow-up.
Block Externship Options:
- Externship in Outpatient Medicine (ME395)
- Geriatric Medicine (ME306)
- Externship in Family Medicine (FAM300)
- Externship in Outpatient Pediatrics (PED395)
- Adolescent Medicine (PED312)
Primary Recurrent Ambulatory Clinic to Increase Continuity Experience (PRACTICE)
In this longitudinal externship, students see patients a half day per week for a total of 32 sessions over their elective year.
Under faculty supervision, students independently evaluate a mix of new and established patients presenting with acute or chronic conditions, taking into account disease prevention and health maintenance. Students are expected to develop plans for evaluation and management and to participate in patient follow-up. Students are excused from most electives to be able to attend their clinic sessions.
PRACTICE Options:
- PRACTICE General Internal Medicine (ME396)
- PRACTICE Family Medicine (FAM396)
- PRACTICE Pediatrics (PED396)
During Core 3, students may choose from multiple electives focused on primary care, available from multiple departments.
E-health experiences introduce students to nontraditional patient care models:
- Telehealth
- E-consults
- Population management
- Electronic health record dashboards
Students use these tools to help manage a patient population either during an outpatient block externship, a longitudinal primary care externship, or as a separate experience. We encourage students to participate in existing initiatives.