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OUTPATIENT US clinical experience in
family medicine
Specialty: Family Medicine
MD2B Connect Physician ID # 39
Where will the rotation take place: This US clinical experience will take place 30 minutes south of downtown Houston.
Hours: Monday - Thursday 9 AM to 5 PM
Hours have been provided by the preceptor. Hours are subject to change at the preceptor’s discretion, but the minimum total hours will remain approximately the same.
What you will do: This is an outpatient experience during which you will be under the supervision of a well regarded physician educator who is board certified in Family Medicine. She holds a staff appointment at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. This is a high volume patient clinic that will provide exposure to the full spectrum of problems and conditions seen in ambulatory care. IMGs will develop significant appreciation for the importance of continuity of care in a primary care setting. As a mentor, this preceptor cares deeply about her students and their future. She remains in touch with many of her former students.
After a few days of observation, you will take on an increasing role in patient encounters and learn the following under the preceptor’s supervision:
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Taking patient histories.
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Performing physical exams under the physician's supervision.
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Presenting patients.
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Writing or entering clinic progress notes.
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Have opportunities to research the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.
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Delivering talks about important topics in your specialty area.
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Being involved in patient education.
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Teaching other team members.
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Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.
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Spending time understanding coding/billing
You will receive regular feedback on your performance.
Although this will largely be a clinical experience, there may be time set aside to work on a project to improve the physician's practice. Please note that the availability of these projects is at the physician's discretion.
Who should consider this rotation: International medical graduates (IMGs) seeking US clinical experience in Family Medicine
How to obtain a letter of recommendation: The rotator should ask the preceptor for a LOR near the conclusion of the rotation. Dr. Desai has provided the physician with guidelines about best practices in letter writing that meet residency program requirements. In some cases, the preceptor may ask the rotator to write a letter of recommendation draft.
During the rotation: Our team will be checking in periodically with you to ensure that you are having an optimal experience. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions during the rotation.
Outpatient US clinical experience
in family medicine
Specialty: Family Medicine
MD2B Connect Physician ID # 47
Where will the rotation take place: This outpatient US clinical experience will take place 15 minutes northwest of downtown Houston.
Hours: Monday - Friday 9 AM to 5 PM (please note that the preceptor is present Monday - Wednesday and Friday; on Thursdays, you will work with the nurse practitioner)
Hours have been provided by the preceptor. Hours are subject to change at the preceptor’s discretion, but the minimum total hours will remain approximately the same.
What you will do: This is an outpatient experience during which you will be under the supervision of a well-regarded physician educator who is board certified in Family Medicine. She holds a staff appointment at Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital. In the past, she was involved in the education of medical students from the Baylor College of Medicine. This will be an excellent opportunity to develop clinical skills in primary care while seeing a diverse patient population. This preceptor also completed general surgery residency training, and she enjoys performing minor surgical procedures in her office. This physician mentor is known for her compassion and warm bedside manner. This preceptor does a combination of in-person and telemedicine visits. On average daily, 10 patients are seen in person in the clinic and the rest of the encounters are conducted virtually.
After a few days of observation, you will take on an increasing role in patient encounters and learn the following under the preceptor’s supervision:
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Taking patient histories.
-
Performing physical exams under the physician's supervision.
-
Presenting patients.
-
Have opportunities to research the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.
-
Being involved in patient education.
-
Teaching other team members.
-
Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.
Please note that this is a largely clinical experience.
Who should consider this rotation: International medical graduates (IMGs) and students seeking US clinical experience in Family Medicine. IMGs seeking to pursue a career in pediatrics will also find this rotation useful as this preceptor does see children.
How to obtain a letter of recommendation: The rotator should ask the preceptor for a LOR near the conclusion of the rotation. Dr. Desai has provided the physician with guidelines about best practices in letter writing that meet residency program requirements. In some cases, the preceptor may ask the rotator to write a letter of recommendation draft.
During the rotation: Our team will be checking in periodically with you to ensure that you are having an optimal experience. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions during the rotation.
inpatient/outpatient US Clinical experience
in family medicine
Specialty: Family Medicine
MD2B Connect Physician ID # 167
Where will the rotation take place: This US clinical experience will take place approximately 30 miles north of downtown Houston.
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 AM to 4 PM
Hours have been provided by the preceptor. Hours are subject to change at the preceptor’s discretion, but the minimum total hours will remain approximately the same.
What you will do: This is a combined inpatient and outpatient experience during which you will be under the supervision of a board-certified family medicine physician. The preceptor holds staff appointments at several hospitals, including HCA Houston Healthcare and Cornerstone Healthcare. Through this experience, students will gain familiarity with how family medicine physicians practice hospital medicine at an institution specializing in long-term acute care. The outpatient component of this clinical experience will take place at several skilled nursing facilities. These two rotation components, including the type of patients and conditions you will see, are described in more detail below.
Long-Term Acute Care Hospital
Part of your day will be spent at a long-term acute care hospital. This is a facility which cares for patients with complex situations and acute medical needs. These patients are admitted here after discharge from an acute care hospital when they have high medical needs that prevent them from going home or to a nursing home. The most common admitting diagnoses include respiratory disease requiring ventilator support, skin ulcers, sepsis, pulmonary edema and respiratory failure, respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal disease, and postoperative infections. You will be involved in the care of these patients. On a typical day, the patient census will include approximately 10 patients and, on average, two of these patients will be in the ICU.
Skilled Nursing Facility
The rest of your day will be spent at one of two skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Since 25% of hospitalized Medicare patients during your residency will be discharged to a SNF, this will be a valuable experience for you to take part in. The typical patient transferred to a SNF is older, has had a longer hospital stay, and requires more assistance for activities of daily living. Research shows that the transition from the hospital to the SNF is a particularly difficult time for patients as care is handed off from one group of physicians to another. Physicians involved in the care of SNF patients are given the responsibility of easing this transition, evaluating newly admitted patients to the SNF, and monitoring their daily care. Given that 23% of patients discharged to a SNF will be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, the quality of care provided in this setting is crucial to patient outcomes, morbidity, and mortality. As part of the team caring for these patients, you will acquire essential skills in evaluating and managing these patients in a safe manner.
This preceptor believes that students should be actively involved with patients. After a few days of observation, you will take on an increasing role in patient encounters and learn the following under the preceptor’s supervision:
· Taking patient histories under supervision.
· Performing physical exams under the physician's supervision.
· Presenting patients.
· Have opportunities to research the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.
· Being involved in patient education.
· Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.
Please note that this is a largely clinical experience.
Who should consider this rotation: International medical graduates (IMGs) and students seeking US clinical experience in Family Medicine.
How to obtain a letter of recommendation: The rotator should ask the preceptor for a LOR near the conclusion of the rotation. Dr. Desai has provided the physician with guidelines about best practices in letter writing that meet residency program requirements. In some cases, the preceptor may ask the rotator to write a letter of recommendation draft.
During the rotation: Our team will be checking in periodically with you to ensure that you are having an optimal experience. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions during the rotation.
inpatient/outpatient US Clinical experience
in family medicine
Specialty: Family Medicine
MD2B Connect Physician ID # 212
Where will the rotation take place: This US clinical experience will take place approximately 8 miles north of downtown Houston.
Hours: Monday - Friday 7 AM to 5 PM (please note that you will also be asked to come in on weekends to round at the hospital; please discuss the timing of these rounds with the preceptor)
Hours have been provided by the preceptor. Hours are subject to change at the preceptor’s discretion, but the minimum total hours will remain approximately the same.
What you will do: This is an inpatient and outpatient experience during which you will be under the supervision of a board-certified family medicine physician. The preceptor holds a staff appointment at United Memorial Medical Center. Through this experience, students will gain familiarity with how family medicine physicians practice both outpatient and hospital medicine.
Your day will begin with prerounds in the hospital ICU at approximately 7 AM (please note that the patients you will be following are all ICU patients). During prerounds, you will gather the relevant patient information needed to make the day's plan and then share it with the attending physician during teaching rounds. This will include reviewing the patient chart to determine what has changed in the patient's condition or course since the previous day and talking with the nurses to understand their perspectives.
At approximately 8 AM, you will round with the attending physician in the ICU. You will present updates on the patients in the form of case presentations and then visit the bedside as a team. At the bedside, the attending physician will take the history, inquire about the patient's symptoms, and provide updates on the plan of care. Attending rounds will typically last 1-1.5 hours. During rounds, you will see how the preceptor coordinates the care of critically ill patients with specialists in other fields, including gastroenterology, pulmonology, infectious disease, and nephrology.
Following rounds and completion of your chart notes, you will accompany the physician to his outpatient clinic where you will be actively involved in the care of these patients. As his practice serves a largely underserved area, you will learn how the socioeconomic determinants of health impact care in marginalized populations and how family medicine physicians are working with patients to help them overcome these challenges.
On Mondays, you will accompany the attending to a nursing home where you will become more familiar with the role and responsibilities of the primary care physician in the evaluation and management of nursing home patients.
After a few days of observation, you will take on an increasing role in patient care (please note that this not a shadowing observership; you will be actively involved in patient care). This includes the following:
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Taking patient histories under supervision (outpatient).
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Presenting patients (outpatient and inpatient)
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Have opportunities to research the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.
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Interacting with consultants to keep them informed of issues regarding your patients and seek their expert opinion when the patients' conditions change (inpatient)
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Coordinating with the staff to implement the plan, including sending medications to pharmacy, making referrals to specialists, ordering and performing labs, administering injections, etc. (outpatient)
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Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.
The activities above will mostly take place in the outpatient setting. As a result of hospital policies, inpatient activities will be more observational.
You will receive regular feedback on your performance.
Who should consider this rotation: International medical graduates (IMGs) and students seeking US clinical experience in Family Medicine.
How to obtain a letter of recommendation: The rotator should ask the preceptor for a LOR near the conclusion of the rotation. Dr. Desai has provided the physician with guidelines about best practices in letter writing that meet residency program requirements. In some cases, the preceptor may ask the rotator to write a letter of recommendation draft.
During the rotation: Our team will be checking in periodically with you to ensure that you are having an optimal experience. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions during the rotation.