Pediactrics

Course Description

The six-week clerkship will be divided into both outpatient and inpatient experiences. The student is expected to actively participate in all rounds, procedures, and activities relating to the care of the pediatric patients seen. While patients are the focus, the student is expected to complete required reading and attend lectures as assigned to supplement the clinical experiences and provide education on pediatric conditions, which are not seen during the clerkship.

Goals

  1. Develop communication skills that will facilitate the clinical interaction and collaboration with children, adolescents and their families.
  2. Develop competence and comfort in the physical examination of infants, children, and adolescents.
  3. Promote wellness and disease/illness prevention.
  4. Acquire a basic understanding of the growth and development (physical, physiological, and psychosocial) and of its clinical application from birth through adolescence.
  5. Acquire the knowledge necessary for the diagnosis and initial management of common acute and chronic pediatric illnesses.
  6. Develop clinical problem-solving skills necessary for life-long medical practice and medical education.
  7. Promote an understanding of the influence of family, community, and society on the child in health and disease.

Overarching Goals

Upon completion of the Pediatric Clerkship, students will:

  1. Be comfortable interacting with parents and pediatric patients of all ages, treating all with respect and courtesy.
  2. Understand the importance of preventive medicine in working with children and families together to promote maximal childhood health.
  3. Know how to perform an age appropriate well child history and physical exam.
  4. Understand the patterns of normal childhood growth and development.
  5. Know how to perform a focused history and physical exam for common acute pediatric illnesses.
  6. Recognize common diseases and conditions of childhood, formulate appropriate differential diagnoses and treatment plans for common conditions.
  7. Present patient care data in appropriately organized written and oral formats.
  8. Develop an understanding of the child and families’ perspectives of being cared for within our health care system.
  9. Recognize the impact of social, cultural and environmental factors on the health of young people.