Inpatient US Clinical Experience in Internal Medicine in Orlando

Information about this clinical experience:

You will be under the supervision of a physician who is board-certified in Internal Medicine. Over 15 years practicing hospital medicine, the doctor has enjoyed teaching international medical graduates. The physician holds hospital appointments at hospitals within the AdventHealth System. On average, you will round on approximately 18 patients per day with the attending physician.

Two to three patients will be assigned to you and you will be expected to follow these patients from admission to discharge. You will arrive in the morning to complete prerounds with a focus on gathering patient information from the overnight period which you will then present to the attending during attending rounds. This preceptor strongly believes in collegiality and cooperation with nursing staff in the delivery of patient care. Therefore, part of your prerounds will involve discussions with nurses about the events that have occurred overnight, including their perspectives and concerns. This will be an excellent way to build your skills in interprofessional communication. Since residency programs value students who have these skills, this will enhance your strength as a residency candidate.

Following this, you will continue prerounds by interviewing your 2-3 assigned patients. You will inquire about the symptoms that brought them to the hospital and any new symptoms or concerns they have. You will then present this information in a structured manner during attending rounds. This will help you hone essential skills in presenting cases. After you discuss your proposed assessment and plan, you will see the patient together to finalize the day's plan. During these discussions, the attending will share important teaching pearls. You will also be asked to interpret patient information and answer the question, "What would you like to do next for this patient?" Following the patient encounter, the attending will update the EMR with the patient's progress note and enter orders.

When the doctor is on call, you can participate in the evaluation of new patient admissions through the Emergency Department. Please note that in the ED you will spend time with the nurse practitioner who is heavily involved in the admissions process. Please note that while AdventHealth has an internal medicine residency program, this opportunity does not involve patient care with resident physicians. You will be working directly with the attending physician.

During your experience, you will learn the following U.S. medical practices under the preceptor’s supervision:

• Taking patient histories.

• Presenting patients.

• Researching the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.

• Educating patients.

• Delivering talks about important topics.

• Teaching other team members.