Undergraduate Medical Education

First Year

Pediatric faculty participate in the Human Behavior block, as well as the Introduction to Clinical Practice Course. During the latter experience, students begin to learn the art of clinical medicine through patient interviews and observation in various clinical sites. Pediatric faculty also participate as facilitators for the problem-based learning curriculum.

Second Year

During physical diagnosis, students work with pediatricians on campus and in community sites in acquiring the skills necessary to perform a pediatric history and physical examination. The faculty also contribute to the didactic lecture series that ties basic science to the practice of medicine through clinical correlates.

Third Year

Each student spends a total of six weeks in pediatrics. The goal of this experience is to provide students with an exposure to preventive care through child health supervision as well as an exposure to common problems and illnesses. Students learn to provide developmentally appropriate care for the whole child in the context of the family unit. This is accomplished through clinical experiences in primary care clinics and practices, specialty clinics, the pediatric emergency department, nursery and inpatient unit. A specially designed didactic curriculum and case discussion series, with faculty tutors, enhance and solidify the clinical experience. Longitudinal continuity clinic experiences are also offered for students interested in fulfilling this requirement in pediatrics.

Fourth Year

A number of exciting opportunities are available for senior students wishing to get a more in-depth experience in pediatrics.

One-month acting internships are available on the general ward service as well as in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Ambulatory experiences both at University and Mercy Medical Center afford students the opportunity to see a large volume of children with a variety of clinical problems.

Elective opportunities are also available in each of the subspecialty divisions outlined above. An elective month in a given subspecialty allows the student to focus on both inpatients and outpatients who are followed by the faculty in that division.

Students assigned to a longitudinal continuity clinic experience in our ambulatory center have the option of continuing this experience during their senior year.

A number of faculty within the department function as clinical advisors for students who wish to pursue residency training and ultimately a career in pediatrics.

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