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The Primary Care, Family & Community Medicine Clerkship is a two-year, longitudinal clerkship that runs through the second and third years of medical school. This clerkship is the only required clinical work during third year and requires one half-day per week. Students are responsible for scheduling and modifying their clinic schedules as they see fit with their preceptors. This may include varied schedules from week to week. Students are responsible for negotiating the timing of the shift so it does not conflict with other ILD responsibilities. Attendance is primarily tracked through regular completion of patient logs
During the MS3 year, students will attend their primary care clinic site once a week excluding intersession weeks and holidays. The specific day every week that the student attends clinic can be arranged with the preceptor.
Because students’ schedules vary during the MS3 year, there is some flexibility around the weekly clinic requirement, but all alternative schedules MUST meet the following criteria:
- The student attends clinic for a total of 28 clinic sessions or 112 hours over the year, AND
- The student attends clinic at least once every 4 weeks from September through May. For example, students have the option of attending clinic for a full day every other week or 2 full days every 4 weeks.
- The student requests the alternative schedule by email to the preceptor and the Clerkship Directors at least 6 weeks in advance.
- The preceptor and Clerkship Directors approve the alternative schedule.
Since this is the only required clinical experience in the MS3 year, the minimum frequency of every 4 weeks is required in order to maintain students' clinical skills and promote patient continuity. If students are required to be off-site for an academic reason (i.e. a global health research project) and feel that the above criteria represent an undue burden, you may request an exception via email. Note that LCME requires that all core clerkships be completed domestically, so remote precepting arrangements will not be permitted.
There is one objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for the clerkship during the third year. It will take place over the course of three Saturdays in the month of November (students have the ability to choose which Saturday they wish to take the exam).
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