Clerkship Syllabus
1 - Introduction
Welcome to the Primary Care Clerkship (PCC)!
Over the next eight weeks, we sincerely hope that you are challenged, intrigued, frustrated and delighted by this rotation.
- Challenged, because the content of primary care is vast, and human reactions to their illnesses are widely varied.
- Intrigued, for the same reasons. You will never know exactly what awaits you behind the exam room door.
- Frustrated, because our health care system has many inequities and barriers to care, payment processes that are often counter-productive, and often seems geared more toward fixing problems than preventing them. If you don't ever feel frustrated, you are probably not 'getting it'.
- Delighted, by the mutual caring between primary care physicians and their patients, the opportunities to help people improve and maintain their health, and the many ways that primary care physicians can make a difference for their patients and communities.
This guide to the Clerkship Requirements lays out the 'nuts and bolts' of the course. Using it will enhance your learning and performance. Many questions that you may have are answered therein. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any other questions.
Best wishes,
David Deci, MD
PCC Director
Christie Legler
PCC Coordinator
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2 - Primary Care Clerkship Educational Goals
By the completion of this clerkship the student is expected to possess the knowledge, attitudes and skills to:
- Describe the nature and scope of primary care practice and how it interacts with other health professions.
- Assess and manage common acute and chronic ambulatory medical problems.
- Determine the health risks of patients and populations and make recommendations for screening and health promotion.
- Identify community resources available to enhance patient care as well as barriers to optimal care.
- Establish effective relationships with patients and families using patient-centered communication skills.
- Practice life-long learning skills, including the application of scientific evidence in clinical care.
PCC Learning Topics and Objectives with Resources
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3 - Primary Care Clerkship Learning Objectives
The Learning Objectives constitute the curriculum for the clerkship for which you may be tested. Collectively they are the most frequent issues encountered in primary care practice.
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4 - The Primary Care Clerkship Clinical Experience
Each student works with community-based family physicians, general internists or pediatricians. These physicians volunteer their time to provide students exposure to primary care. Students are expected to take advantage of the many learning opportunities available during the rotation. Student-patient encounters frequently afford independent learning opportunities for the student to explore in depth when not in clinic. Students will also discuss selected topics in depth in small group problem based learning sessions.
In addition to learning from patient issues encountered during the clinical sessions, students are encouraged to take time to note the importance of the physician-patient relationship, to assess the health problems and resources of the community in which they practice, and to participate in the coordination of health care.
Generally, students are scheduled to work in two clinics, one family medicine and one internal medicine or pediatrics; you will be at each 3-4 half days a week. Most clinics serve a broad spectrum of patient needs. Some clinicians may have areas of particular interest that serve a more specialized group of patients. Be sure to take advantage of both of these opportunities. The level of student independence may vary from clinic to clinic. Current Medicare guidelines restrict student documentation to the following: students may enter a patient's past, family, social history and review of systems; in some locations, students may be allowed to dictate, noting that they are "dictating as a scribe for Dr. ____." Each of our partnering institutions interprets Medicare guidelines slightly differently, so expect some variability. You are encouraged to get permission from your preceptor to enter background information and write orders and prescriptions in either paper or electronic records.
Your clinical experience should be a mix of observing clinical encounters as well as independent activities. Preceptors often have their student shadow at the beginning of the rotation to determine the student's level of clinical expertise. Your level of independence should increase as the preceptor becomes more familiar with your strengths and weaknesses. Students are required to have preceptors observe and give feedback on their history taking, physical examination and discussion of the plan with the patient. All students should have both supervised and independent patient interactions throughout the rotation. Students are also strongly encouraged to assist your preceptor and office staff in clinical procedures.
Helpful Hints When Working in a Clinic
I. Get to know the clinic staff. Interactions with the clinic staff will allow a better understanding of the demands of ambulatory medicine.
II. It is not necessary for you to see every patient. Try to see every second or third patient and spend time between patients looking up clinical care information to discuss with the preceptor. This can be a particularly useful strategy if you are working with a very busy clinician who has limited time for discussions between patients.
III. Arrange to see patient conditions that meet your educational needs. Work with your preceptor to identify patient visits that are most valuable to your learning as well as any potential problems with seeing the required conditions.
IV. Respect differences in patient care decisions. Occasionally you may observe patient care decisions that seem to be in conflict with the information you discover when completing your learning objectives. If done tactfully, these can be significant opportunities for learning with your preceptor. If, for example, you see a patient whose cholesterol is higher than would seem appropriate based upon your understanding of the current guidelines, it would be better to ask a general question such as "Dr. X, could you explain to me how you use the NCEP guidelines in cholesterol management?" and not "Doctor X, according to what I read you should be treating Mrs. Smith's cholesterol more aggressively." Please remember that you are a guest in your preceptor's office and that such discussions are probably best to have away from the patient.
V. Be prepared to take advantage of valuable learning opportunities. Preceptors may require students to accompany them on hospital visits, home visits or evening call. Students are expected to take advantage of these valuable learning opportunities. Contact your site coordinator if your preceptor reduces your schedule to less than three half-days a week.
VI. Bring your stethoscope. The only equipment you are likely to need is your stethoscope.
Tracking Experience Requirements
The UWSMPH has asked that each third year clerkship identify required learning experiences that students track during the rotation. Rather than focus on specific diseases, we have identified 11 primary care skills that we require you to track, in conjunction with your preceptor, on OASIS
Each student is required to be observed and receive feedback on the skills listed below.
| Skill | Date(s) of Observation and Feedback | Faculty Initials |
|---|---|---|
| Observed History: Acute concern | ||
| Observed History: Chronic problem | ||
| Observed Physical: Abdomen | ||
| Observed Physical: Cardiovascular | ||
| Observed: Interpretation of EKG | ||
| Observed Physical: HEENT | ||
| Observed Physical: MSK | ||
| Observed Physical: GU | ||
| Observed Physical: Neuro | ||
| Observed Physical: Psych | ||
| Communicate plan of care with patient |
Students are required to track the observations listed above in two ways:
- Tracking Clinical Experiences log (hard copy, preceptor signatures required)
- OASIS (no faculty sign off required)
Required tracking should take place as soon as the observation is completed. The PCC Coordinator will contact students who appear to not be keeping up to date with tracking on OASIS.
Failure to turn in the Tracking Clinical Experiences log at the end of the rotation and complete tracking on OASIS will limit student's access to the final exam.
How to Elicit Feedback From Your Preceptor
Preceptors have different approaches to teaching and providing feedback to students. Most preceptors have busy clinical practices and must adapt their teaching styles to meet the time constraints of their practice. Here are ways in which you can elicit feedback from a busy physician.
Ask. Start by asking your preceptor how he/she would like to provide you with feedback (between patients, with patient, at the end of the day). When convenient, ask your preceptor specific questions as "Would you like for me to do something different in my presentations". This will more likely to elicit constructive feedback than a more general 'How am I doing?'
Review your Mid Rotation Feedback form with your preceptors. Toward the end of the third week of the rotation ask each of your primary preceptors to suggest a time when you could sit down to go over your Mid Rotation feedback form. Upload the completed form to OASIS, preferably by the end of Week 4 but no later than the end of Week 5.
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5 - The Community Project
Since 2009, M3 students on the Primary Care Clerkship (PCC) have been required to complete a community project during their 8-week rotation. Beginning in the 2011-12 academic year, the PCC is partnering with the statewide AHEC system to enhance the community project component of the clerkship.
The AHEC representatives will help facilitate connections between students and community partners for such projects as:
• Health Careers mentoring
• General health curricula in schools or community settings
• Enhancing care at free clinics/community health centers
• Community health initiatives
Each student is required to:
• Choose a project by the end of the second week;
• Actively participate in chosen community project (minimum 24 hours);
• At the end of the rotation, write a flective paper and present a description of the community, the project, background and project impact on the community, with focus on interest in working with underserved communities. The presentations will be timed and must be completed in 8 minutes, with 1-2 minutes for questions. The Community Projects is graded as pass/fail.
PCC Community Project presentation should include (5-8 minutes, audiovisual equipment will be provided):
• Introduce yourself and your regional site
• Identify the setting and community partners involved in the project
• Note the goals of the project, description of service work
• Discuss challenges you ran into, insights into topic or community gained
• How did the project impact you?
PCC Community Project reflection paper should include:
• What was learned
• How the student was impacted by this project
• Description of Community and Project
• Student role(s) and how time was spent (minimum 24 hours)
• Impact of the project on the community
Working with preceptors is the bedrock of the primary care clerkship. If at all possible, community project activities should be conducted during times when a student is not scheduled to be with a preceptor.
Occasionally a key , pre-scheduled component of the student community project will conflict with a scheduled preceptor session. In this case, the student should:
• Determine if it is feasible to reschedule the community session; if not,
• Discuss with his or her preceptor and determine if a replacement clinic time is available; if not,
• Discuss with (small group leader; clerkship director) whether the community session merits missing a preceptor session and how to best resolve the issue.
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6 - Problem Based Learning and Doctor/Patient Communication Sessions
One morning or afternoon a week, PCC students at your site come together to discuss a series of problem-based learning (PBL) cases. In this learning format, students are expected to develop a differential diagnosis, decide what further tests are needed and determine a patient care plan. This process is intended to reflect the clinical interactions of information-gathering, processing, formulating and narrowing hypotheses. Each case should generate a set of learning points that require further investigation. Students will present the answers to the learning topic they choose to investigate to the group during the next PBL session. What is unique about learning in the PBL format is that the sessions are student-directed and driven. A faculty moderator is present to provide minimal guidance and direction to the group.
There are five PBL cases that will be discussed during the clerkship, covering all of the learning topics in the course. The cases will help you master the clerkship objectives. Students will discuss the same patient scenarios regardless of the location of their clinical experience.
Each week, we will email your clinical preceptors to inform them of the PBL case you will be discussing that week. Ask your preceptors if they expect to see a patient with a problem similar to your PBL case. Arrange to spend some time with your preceptor to discuss these patients.
PCC Simulated Cases:
In addition to the weekly PBL sessions, students can review additional online simulated cases. These cases and questions were collected to provide an alternative for students who do not encounter a required core condition in the clinic, as well as to enhance learning for all students.
Doctor/Patient Communication Curriculum
Students at each site come together for three, 90-minute, structured Doctor/Patient Communication sessions. These sessions are designed to develop competencies related to communication issues commonly encountered in most patient care settings, with an emphasis on use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques to assist patients in changing behavior. The Doctor/Patient Communication curriculum builds the skills initially learned in PDS. The required text for this curriculum is Motivational Interviewing in Health Care. You will be loaned a copy of this required text at the general clerkship orientation.
The first Dr/Pt communication session will provide an overview of effective communication skills, including a review of history taking skills and discussion of skills to enhance patient adherence to recommendations. You will compare and contrast MI with more directive approaches. At the first or second session, each student will present an outline of one or two assigned chapters from the required text and will be expected to have read the entire book. Your small group instructor may email you with a more specific schedule for this activity.
The 2nd and 3rd sessions will be centered on videotape review and discussion. Each student in your group will be asked to video tape one patient encounter for review during these sessions. You are required to obtain patient consent from each videotaped patient. The purpose of the taping session is to evaluate your communications skills, not your medical knowledge. Please review the instructions for videotaping. Your preceptor will be sent an email reminder of your need to videotape a patient interview. Don't hesitate to ask your preceptor for help in selecting a patient to tape. The PCC videotape is designed to build upon previous videotape experience in PDS, ideally by going beyond obtaining a patient history to demonstrating use of MI with a patient with a chronic medical condition. After taping, review the video and complete the Videotape Self-Assessment.
Each student will also be assigned a particular perspective of Motivational Interviewing to assess as you watch your peers' videotapes.
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7 - Self Directed Learning
- ECG Curriculum
- Primary Care Clerkship Simulated Cases
- Optional Textbooks and Resources
- Tracking Experience Requirements
PCC Required Readings and Resources
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8 - Primary Care Clerkship Expectations
I. Attend Madison Orientation and, if applicable, the regional site orientation.
II. Report to clinics, Problem Based Learning and Dr/Pt Communication sessions as scheduled and on time. Adhere to the PCC Attendance Policy (See Section 12).
III. Regularly elicit feedback from your clinical preceptors on your performance.
IV. Throughout the rotation regularly track PCC experience requirements on your paper tracking log AND on OASIS If you are having any difficulty getting preceptors to observe and provide feedback, contact Christie Legler. Students who fail to track all 11 experiences on the paper log AND on OASIS will not be allowed to take the PCC final exam.
V. Throughout the rotation regularly track each half day clinic you attend on OASIS Required documentation includes: the date, name of the faculty and clinic attended (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics). Changes to clinical logs will not be accepted after the final Wednesday of the rotation.
VI. As instructed by your Dr/Pt communication instructor, tape a patient encounter and bring the video tape to class. Complete the PBL mid rotation feedback form and return to your leader as instructed.
VII. Meet with the AHEC representative and choose a project by the end of the second week (sooner if possible). Actively participate in chosen community project (minimum 24 hours). At the end of the rotation, submit a written reflection and present a description of the community, the project, background and project impact on the community, with focus on interest in working with underserved communities.
VIII. By the end of the clerkship, be able to demonstrate competency of the PCC Learning Objectives.
IX. Complete the PCC final online exams and OSCE exam as scheduled.
X. Contact PCC Administrative staff as early as possible with problems.
XI. Review your Mid Rotation Feedback form with each primary preceptor. Upload the completed form to OASIS no later than the end of Week 5 (preferably by the end of Week 4). You will receive an email from the clerkship adminsitrator reminding you to accomplish this requirement.
XII. Complete and turn in the following at the end of the rotation:
- Clinic Log - completed on OASIS
- Required Clinical Experiences Log (paper copy signed by preceptor and online (OASIS)
- Required Mid Rotation Feedback Form
- Written reflection of the Community Project (OASIS)
- Student Evaluation of the Clerkship (OASIS)
- Video recorder, if applicable and Motivational Interviewing text book (to Christie Legler)
XIII. If you are registered at the Medical School to receive special accommodations at the final exam, it is your responsibility to provide this information to Christie Legler by PCC Week 3 so appropriate arrangements can be made.
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9 - Primary Care Clerkship Final Exam
There are four components to the final exam:
- OSCE exam: 25% of final grade
- Community Project Presentation: pass/fail (required)
- On-line Closed Resource multiple choice exam: 5% of final grade
- Open Resource short answer/essay exam: 5% of final grade
- OSCE - Last Thursday AM of the Rotation, (see email from Christie Legler) (25% of final grade)
The OSCE is a clinical or practical examination. Each station tests performance of a set of clinical skills from the clerkship objectives. Students are provided with a brief case scenario and specific tasks to complete. The student then interacts with a standardized patient trained to provide a similar experience for each student. In most stations an assessor is present and uses a checklist of competencies to evaluate the student's performance. Students will complete the OSCE in two groups, one starting at 8:00 AM and one starting at approximately 9:40 AM. The PCC OSCE consists of 6 stations, each lasting 10-12 minutes and, because the OSCE is used for evaluation, students will receive minimal feedback on their performance in the station itself. Examples of skills that might be tested are: delivery of a problem assessment, negotiating a treatment plan, performing a focused physical exam, taking the history of a common primary care problem. Here are helpful hints for preparing for the OSCE exam. - Community Project Presentation (pass/fail)
Students will complete their community project presentations opposite the OSCE timeline; first group starting at 8:00 AM, second group starting at approximately 9:40 AM. - Proctored, Closed Resource Exam (one hour): Last Thursday (5% of final grade)
After the OSCE and Community Project Presentation, students will take a short closed resource, aka 'shelf' exam. This exam consists of approximately 30 multiple choice questions designed to evaluate the knowledge and problem-solving skills that students are expected to learn on the clerkship. It is timed, but not designed to be time-constrained. - On-line (Learn@UW), "Open Book" Exam (1.5 hours) (5% of final grade)
The on-line exam is available from 1:00 pm on the last Thursday through 5:00 pm the last Friday of the clerkship. The exam is open-reference to allow students to use any online resources; but has time constraints so that students will benefit from being familiar with the most useful resources or creating their own. Students cannot use other people for help.
The format is a Modified-Essay Quiz (MEQ), a series of short-answer questions based on a clinical case. Students are given a portion of case information and are asked about the next step in managing the case. Some of the questions require the use of evidence-based medicine concepts.
Practice Exams
- Practice Exam (Requires Learn@UW Log In)
- Practice OSCE Scenarios
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10 - Evaluation and Grading
Student grading is an important aspect of the Clerkship learning experience, and we take grade assignment very seriously. Although specific examination items are rotated, the overall exam components and their fraction of the final clerkship grade remain constant during an academic year.
The Primary Care Clerkship follows the UWSMPH Educational Policy Council directive on grade distribution, which states that no more than half of students may receive an A or AB, and no more than half of these may be A's.
Final Grade:
- 50% Clinical (average of all preceptors)
- 10% Small Group Leader evaluations (Problem Based Learning and Dr/Pt Communication sessions)
- 35% Final Exam (25% OSCE, 5% closed resource Multiple Choice, pass/fail Community Project Presentation, 5% open resource Modified Essay)
- 5% Professionalism (attitude, dress, punctuality, engagement, completion of administrative tasks)
The Primary Care Clerkship Director determines all final grades.
Grading Process
Near the end of the rotation, your primary clinical preceptors and other preceptors who have worked with you three or more half-days will be required to evaluate your clinical performance using a standardized clinical evaluation form. If you work with many preceptors at a clinic, the primary preceptor will often summarize the evaluation ratings for the clinic.
Those grading you will receive an evaluation form and an accompanying grid for guidance. Each area is graded on the following scale:
| Advanced | Competent | Needs Improvement | Unacceptable: Needs Attention | Not Evaluated |
Typically, preceptors grade students as "Competent" or "Needs Improvement" unless the student has exemplary performance. If a preceptor's verbal feedback has been "You are doing great!!" it does not necessarily mean the preceptor will check boxes under "Advanced". It is the student's responsibility to elicit comprehensive feedback.
Each clinical preceptor who has worked with the student more than three half-days will evaluate the student's clinical performance, using the clinical evaluation form supplied by the Medical School's office. The small group leader will evaluate the student's performance in the Problem Based Learning sessions using the mentor evaluation form.
Each preceptor evaluation is weighted, based on the number of half-days with the student. In other words, the evaluation from a preceptor who worked with a student for 21 half days will count three times as heavily as an evaluation from a preceptor who worked with a student for 7 half days. Changes to clinical logs will not be accepted after the rotation has concluded.
Your small group preceptor also completes a Preceptor Evaluation of Medical Student form.
All PCC evaluations are compiled, converted to numeric scores, and a final score calculated. The final scores are then placed into a raw grade distribution. The conversion of final score to grade is as follows:
| Grade | Final Score Range | EPC Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.56 and up | </= 25 % of students |
| AB | 4.40 - 4.55 | </= 25 % of students |
| B | 4.00 - 4.39 | |
| BC | 3.50 - 3.99 | |
| C | < 3.50 |
Grades will be rounded to the nearest hundredth, i.e. 4.393 would be rounded down to 4.39, and 4.396 would be rounded up to 4.40.
Missing Evaluations: We make every effort to obtain an evaluation from all preceptors whom the student worked with for three or more clinic sessions. Occasionally, however, we simply cannot obtain an evaluation within the allotted schedule; in this case we will generally submit the student's grade excluding that evaluation. If the missing evaluation contributes more than 25% of the clinical grade (typically 10 or more clinic sessions), the Clerkship Director will discuss options with the student, including a Temporary Incomplete grade or grade assignment without that evaluation.
Grade Inquiries
PCC final grades are determined by components carefully selected to reflect medical student performance. Grading components and grading distribution are reviewed on an annual basis.
A student wishing to request a formal review of his/her final grade must do so by writing a one page (maximum) letter outlining the reason(s) for the request. Send the request to Christie Legler Christie Legler. This request and the students file (all clinical grades and written assignments from the Primary Care Clerkship) will be forwarded to the Clerkship Director for review. The student will be notified of the Clerkship Director’s decision within 10 working days. We are happy to review grades with students upon request as follows:
- Overall performance: If a student has a concern that their grade may have been miscalculated or wishes to view the breakdown of the evaluation components, they should contact the Clerkship Coordinator, Christie Legler.
- Examinations: Students who wish to review their OSCE or online exam in order to improve performance on future tests should contact the PCC Examination Director, Doug Smith, MD.
- OSCE: If a student has a concern regarding an OSCE station scoring, the Clerkship Examination Director will review the videotape of the station and other representative stations. If it appears that the station scoring is incorrect, the Clerkship Examination Director may rescore the station or calculate an OSCE grade without the station.
- Open resource exam: If a student has a concern regarding the open resource exam scoring, the Clerkship Examination Director will review the scoring. If it appears that the scoring is incorrect, the Clerkship Examination Director may rescore the exam or calculate an exam grade without this component.
- Closed exam: If a student has a concern regarding a question on the closed exam, he or she should submit a written statement to the Clerkship Director. The Clerkship Examination Director and Clerkship Director will review the question, and may give full or partial credit for alternative answers.
- Community project: Given the nature of the scoring, there is no appeal process feasible for the community project evaluation.
- Preceptor Evaluation: If a student has a concern about a particular preceptor evaluation, he or she should contact the Clerkship Coordinator or Clerkship Director as soon as possible. In this event, all of the student’s clinical evaluations will be reviewed by the Clerkship Director, looking for consistency/outliers. If, in the opinion of the Clerkship Director, the student’s concern is valid and the evaluation seems out of line with other evaluations, the Clerkship Coordinator will calculate the student’s grade with or without the evaluation. If disqualifying the evaluation would change the student’s grade, the Clerkship Director may consider doing so. Changes to clinical logs will not be accepted after the final Wednesday of the rotation.
- An example of a valid concern would be the following: A student writes to the Clerkship Coordinator/Clerkship Director before grades are submitted, indicating that he/she was concerned about a particular preceptor evaluation because that preceptor expressed that ‘No M3 student should ever get an Advanced.’ On review, this preceptor’s evaluation seems significantly lower than any other. The Clerkship Director may exclude that evaluation and discuss future evaluations with this preceptor.
- Because most of our preceptors are volunteers, and there is some inherent variability in preceptor grading, we will not ask an individual preceptor to review or modify his/her evaluation.
- Small Group Leader Evaluation: Given the nature of the interaction as well as the high level of engagement of the small group leaders in the clerkship, there is no appeal process feasible for the small group leader’s evaluation.
Only if a student is able to provide new or revised information about his/her performance will a final grade change be considered.
These requests must be submitted in writing as stated above, with appropriate documentation to the Clerkship Coordinator.
We welcome feedback on our grading procedures as we do on all aspects of the Primary Care Clerkship.
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11 - Primary Care Clerkship Course Administration
Director:
David Deci, MD,
david.deci@fammed.wisc.edu
(608) 263-0494
Statewide and Madison Administrator:
Christie Legler
christie.legler@fammed.wisc.edu
HSLC Room 4265 (608) 263-0427
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12 - Primary Care Clerkship Policies
PDAs, Video Recorders, Books
Plan to use your personal computer and PDA during the clerkship. You will be provided with a video recorder and tapes for the Doctor/Patient Communication sessions. Recorders distributed at orientation must be returned to Christie Legler, HSLC Room 4265 at the end of rotation.
Students must pay for any lost or damaged recorder, tripod or Motivational Interviewing book to receive their final grade.
ThePCC recommended PDA-based resources will enhance the student's ability to access point of care information during their clinical experience. Students are encouraged to download a copy of Essential Evidence Plus into a PDA. Essential Evidence Plus has many useful components including EBM databases, clinical guidelines, clinical calculators and health maintenance recommendations. Essential Evidence Plus requires a PDA at least as fast as a Palm Tungsten e. The use of a slower PDA results in very long loading times as well as long waits to retrieve information. A memory card is also required to download the program.
Direct questions regarding how to download programs may be directed to Nate Gullick Although some students initially find Essential Evidence Plus difficult to navigate, continued use usually results in a rapid learning curve and ease of navigation.
Primary Care Clerkship Attendance
- Attendance Policy
- H1N1 Absence Policy
- Request for Absence Form (requires log in)
Your Primary Care Clerkship is very short and there is a lot to learn and see in this abbreviated time. Planned absences are strongly discouraged. Please review the medical school policy regarding clerkship absences (posted on OASIS). Per the policy, social engagements are not considered excused absences. If unforeseen circumstances arise that are not covered under excused absences, the Primary Care Clerkship Director will consider these individually.
Remediation work may be required for approved absences in the event clinical time cannot be made up. This remediation may include additional clinic time and/or completion of on-line simulated cases. If you miss 3 or more days of the rotation, for any reason, you may be required to repeat the clerkship.
In the event of an unplanned absence, please notify your clinic preceptor as soon as possible. In addition, send Christie Legler, Christie.legler@fammed.wisc.edu an email with the reason for the absence and estimated time away from the clerkship. Any absences not approved by the PCC Madison office will likely result in a failing grade for the rotation.
Transportation
Students are required to have transportation during this rotation because clinic assignments may be up to an hour away. See Frequently Asked Questions for more info about travel.
Professionalism
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of professionalism during the Primary Care Clerkship. It is a privilege to be invited into the practice of community physicians. You are an ambassador of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. We rely on you to respect teachers, preceptors and patients and to display ethical behavior. Your clinical site will determine acceptable attire. Students are expected to adhere to these expectations. At some sites, you are housed in shared homes, apartments or call rooms. The use of good judgment is critical to your professional reputation. Check with your site coordinator for further details if you have any questions about professional expectations.
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13 - Primary Care Clerkship Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why are some of my clinics so far away? Is mileage reimbursement available?
Unfortunately, recruiting volunteer preceptors has become more and more difficult, and we have had to go farther afield from our regional campuses to obtain strong learning sites. This is particularly true in the Madison area, where we regularly use preceptors as far away as Beloit, and in Milwaukee, where Kenosha is a frequent site.
The regional coordinators do take driving distance into account in making preceptor assignments, and do make an attempt to limit driving through assignment and schedule adjustments. However, since continuity of care is one of the major learning goals of the PCC, it is not possible to make driving distances completely equal for every student.
We regret that mileage reimbursement is not available through the UWSMPH for student commutes to training sites.
A national survey of primary care clerkships done in early 2008 did not identify any schools that reimburse students for driving unless this was funded through an external source.
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