Outpatient US Clinical Experience in Cardiology in Phoenix

Information about this clinical experience:

You will be under the supervision of a physician who is board-certified in cardiology. The preceptor is on staff at Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix and St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. The doctor has been actively involved in the education of internal medicine residents and cardiology fellows at Banner. The preceptor is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and is a member of the American College of Cardiology.

Knowing that rural patients have limited access to cardiac care, the doctor has made it a mission to improve access to care in rural communities in Arizona. Three days every week, the doctor travels to communities 1-2 hours from Phoenix to deliver care in these areas. The physician finds this very fulfilling, and is eager to share the joys of rural medicine with the next generation of physicians. For the IMG, this will be an excellent opportunity to experience medicine in underserved areas. Your involvement in this rotation has the potential to make you a more attractive candidate to residency programs that have a rural focus or component.

Please note that two days of every week will be spent in the Phoenix office.

The rural areas that this physician serves have suffered from a lack of access to cardiac care, a situation that has only worsened due to the pandemic. As a result, the volumes of patients seen in this rotation will be high and require you to work as part of a team to maintain patient flow in a timely and efficient manner. Although this will significantly reduce the amount of teaching time following your patient encounters, you will have substantial time in the car to and from these rural areas to discuss important topics in cardiology with the attending and ask any questions related to patient care. Prior rotators have also delivered topic presentations to the preceptor during the period of car travel.

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

• Taking patient histories.

• Performing physical exams under the physician's supervision.

• Presenting patients.

• Writing or entering clinic progress notes.

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

• Educating patients.

• Giving talks or topic presentations to the team.

• Spending time with other healthcare professionals in the office to understand their roles and responsibilities.