Internal Medicine -- Preventive Medicine/Public Health/Quality Improvement - Rochester

Description:

The Preventive Medicine Clerkship, offered through Mayo's Division of Preventive and Occupational Medicine, provides senior medical students an opportunity to learn firsthand the principles and applications of general preventive medicine, occupational medicine, public health and quality improvement. This is accomplished with clinical and field experiences as well as interactive exercises pertinent to the specialty. Experiential learning forms the backbone of this rotation. A syllabus is provided for literature review of the specialty.

Specific Goals:

• Gain experience in the application of preventive principles in the primary care setting, and appreciate the principles of population based care in a Public Health setting.
• Understand the objectives, principles and applications of quality improvement and patient safety in the health care setting.
• Participate in a study project intended to focus learning on a subject area in which students have a strong personal interest.

Activity Outline:

The students' time is divided between clinical/field experiences and a study project preferably selected before beginning the clerkship. Clinical/field assignments are made primarily in the Division of Preventive Medicine and affiliated groups at Mayo Clinic Rochester, including Occupational health units in local hospitals, and the Refugee Clinic and Adult Detention Center at the Olmsted County Public Health Department. Direct patient contact in many of these areas is required. The entire rotation lasts 3-4 weeks. All students are encouraged to attend clinical and public health conferences on related subjects.

Method of Evaluation:

Students are evaluated on the basis of satisfactory participation in the clinical/field assignments and an open book examination at the end of the rotation. A review of each student's general performance is provided at the end of the rotation by the clerkship director.