I'm curious to know which schools aside from AZCOM offer the early clinical experience/preceptorships to their first and second year students. I would assume this is normal, but I've heard that some programs don't do this. Since I'll be starting mine with a pediatrician next week, I would be interested to hear feedback from those who have done this in the past as MS1's and MS2's.

SUNY Upstate has a medicine elective in the second year. Also, because there's a summer anatomy option here, people who do that have an opening from November to January when they offer Family Practice and Radiology preceptorships. My radiology one doesn't start for another month yet but people I've talked to seem to find it really helpful, especially as a review of gross.

I'm curious to know which schools aside from AZCOM offer the early clinical experience/preceptorships to their first and second year students. I would assume this is normal, but I've heard that some programs don't do this. Since I'll be starting mine with a pediatrician next week, I would be interested to hear feedback from those who have done this in the past as MS1's and MS2's.


we have one. We already were taught the history and physical exam. We spend our first 2 years practicing it.

we have one. We already were taught the history and physical exam. We spend our first 2 years practicing it.
Here at NYMC it similar, they stage it:
1st year=history
2nd year=h+p

but both years we are in preceptorships practicing those skills.

Here at NYMC it similar, they stage it:
1st year=history
2nd year=h+p

but both years we are in preceptorships practicing those skills.

OU is the same way.

EDIT: I would think it would be highly unusual for a program not to offer any patient contact whatsover first and second year. OP, where have you heard of that doesn't have preceptorship programs in the basic science years?

Hopkins has a very extensive one too.

UMass has one too. Lasts two years and we start histories and PD in the first year.

Baylor has one that follows the organ based teaching system. We learn how to do the cardiovascular exam when we are learning about the heart, abdominal exam when we are studying the GI system, etc. We are also done with basic sciences 1.5 years into the program so we start rotations earlier.

Wake Forest has what they call the "Community Practice Experience" or CPE.

Basically, you get sent out to clinics all over the state of North Carolina and practice w/ a assigned preceptor for a week (2 weeks over the summer). There are 5 weeks total and its pretty much a time to enhance our history/physical exam skills. Kids always come back w/ good stories from their CPEs.

Cornell

univ of illinois - rockford does as well. we started staffing primary care clinics in the fall of the 2nd year. also interviewing during first year.

-t, md

I'm curious to know which schools aside from AZCOM offer the early clinical experience/preceptorships to their first and second year students. I would assume this is normal, but I've heard that some programs don't do this. Since I'll be starting mine with a pediatrician next week, I would be interested to hear feedback from those who have done this in the past as MS1's and MS2's.

OSU-COM

(Various departments in the hospital and clinics)

I was in Surgery, ER, L&D, Radiology, Family Practice, etc.

My favorite was scrubbing in and holding the rib spreaders for a cardiothoracic surgeon as an MS-I.

KU has one.

They teach H&P based on the current unit, i.e. pulm exam for the pulm unit, and so on. Also, everyone gets assigned to a real physician to follow around and annoy for a few hours a month, usually a PCP like an internist, doing their scutwork and maybe taking histories that they'll have to repeat after you screw up.

I hear it plays a lot like third year, in that you know nothing and are the least respected person on the service. :thumbup:

Unthsc-tcom

The University of Florida has a 3 week preceptopship in addition to the standardized patients encounters you have during 1st/2nd year and the patient contact you have with mentors during 2nd year. The preceptorship happens after your first block of classes (3 weeks in December prior to your 2 week winter break). You're sent to clinics all over the state (based on your preference and a lottery system) and can pick a primary care mentor in any field (IM, peds, or FP).

LECOM does.

I had heard that Temple doesn't have a preceptorship during the first 2 years. Don't know if this is true or not.

Starting in week 10 of MS1, students at Univ of South Florida begin their preceptorships. They spend a half day every week there.

The first year preceptorship is completely random - you could get stuck with a pediatrician just as easily as a neurosurgeon. During 2nd year, there is a choice to some extent, and you get to spend time with two different preceptrors. The admin makes sure that every student gets at least ONE rotation with a primary care field.

Overall, it's a wonderful program. It keeps me motivated when the lecture days are long... I really think that USF students have one of the best clinical preceptor programs in the southeast. There's so much exposure early on.

Throughout first and second years there are also many standardized patients. There are nearby free clinics that students can go work at whenever they have free time (however elusive it may be)...

Miami

Rochester

SUNY-Buffalo has clinical experience right off the bat. I think that you'll find all US medical schools have this or will soon as i believe it is now a required element in order to keep accreditation from LCME or one of those governing bodies. I may be wrong though...

Chicago College of OSteopathic Medicine does!

Touro University Nevada COM has one too.

Do you find these helpful I felt as though I was in the way knew nothing and felt like a fake when random patients start calling you doctor and asking questions.

University of Colorado does this, the Foundations of Doctoring program. We spend 1/2 day most weeks working in a doc's clinic. Most preceptors are in FP\IM\Peds the first 2 years, but we can branch out more 3rd year (we take time off from other rotations to go do this, our version of the resident's continuity clinics). It is helpful, a good way to get comfortable with H&Ps\presentations before 3rd year. A nice break from long lecture days, too!

UMDNJ-SOM does this. Required 3hr per month with your preceptor (family medicine only). First year it's more to observe and get comfortable in the office. Second year we're expected to conduct H&Ps.

-J

University of Tennessee, Memphis does. We also do the histories and physical exams and stuff.

GW has an extensive program starting with patient contact first year, first semester where we are assigned a preceptor for our first and second year. The preceptor is either a family medicine doc, internal medicine, or pediatrician and we go to their office about every other week to take histories and practice our physical exam techniques. In addition, their is a physical diagnosis class we the first and second years are taught PE skills by 4th year students and attendings in the hospital student training center (kind of like the center used for the CS exam).

I believe that Virginia Commonwealth has a preceptor program during M1 and M2 years.... I know they have it for M2s... but I'm not 100% positive about M1 year.

The University of Louisville does too. The first one has to be completed during M1 and the second during M2. One primary care doc and one specialist.

UVM started us right off the bat with physical exam skills on standardized patients. Plus there's a program called Doctoring in Vermont where you visit a primary care doc's office starting in January of 1st year and that lasts several months. Of note, we started clinical clerkships in Feb of the second year.