Clerkship Requirements
Inpatient - At least two complete new patient H&Ps and Physical Assessments each week:
- 2 patients presenting with fever
- 2 patients presenting with respiratory complaints
- 2 patients presenting with GI complaint
- 2 other acute illness Include differential diagnoses and Medline search on evidence for management.
Outpatient - During Ambulatory week, complete at least two well-child visits.
Nursery Week - Complete at least five well-newborn evaluations.
Adolescent Week - Document at least three complete adolescent visits with sexual history and pubertal maturation.
Elective Week - Complete at least two workups or evaluations of patients with chronic illness or issues which can lead to chronic problems.
CLIPP Cases - You are required to complete the following 22 CLIPP Cases (see CLIPP cases in section 3 of orientation packet): Required #s 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 30.
Patient Log - Each student is required to keep track, using E*Value, of all patients and patient problems encountered on both outpatient and inpatient services. This must be submitted prior to taking the final exam.
Lectures - All students are required to attend the pediatric lecture series, except when assigned to an off-campus private practice or Tuscaloosa during ambulatory week.
Clerkship Expectations
The eight week clerkship in Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is not expected to impart the knowledge necessary to bring a student to the level of the Pediatrician.
However, in the course of this rotation, the student will be expected to focus on several areas of information which will include: knowledge of normal growth and development, including physical growth, neurological development, alterations of behavior, and sexual maturation, and also the transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life, developmental physiology for all organ systems, and the development of the host defense system. Knowledge of events that represent normal development at certain ages that are distinctly abnormal at other ages should also be emphasized.
The principals behind the schedule for childhood immunization is a hallmark of pediatric preventative medicine and should be emphasized by the student.
The student should learn the basic principals of clinical treatment of pediatric illnesses, including problems of nutrition, fluid and electrolyte balance, and antibiotic therapy of common pediatric infections.
In addition, recognition of common pediatric problems including the common congenital malformations will also be important to the student's success in pediatrics. During the pediatric rotation, the student is expected to become proficient at the performance of the pediatric history and physical examination, with special emphasis on the areas of growth and development, prenatal history, nutritional history, and the psychosocial development of each individual child.
The care of the child is a particular challenge when considering certain skills and techniques which are necessary for general pediatric care. The student is expected to familiarize him or herself with techniques for venipuncture, lumbar puncture, urine analysis, and gram stain of cerebrospinal and body fluids.