Phase 2

This course is a pre-cursor to the clinical clerkships and is designed to facilitate the transition to clinic practice.  The design of the course is similar to Phase 1 as the majority of experiences are classroom based and divided into two sections.  Clinical Transitions focuses on refreshing core clinical skills and introducing information necessary for the care and advocacy of patients.  Topics include but are not limited to the following:  geriatrics, pediatrics, New American, LGBTQIA+, addiction, intimate partner violence, rural medicine, structural racism, trauma informed care.  It will also provide training for use of key communication strategies in the clinical environment such as utilizing interpreters, telemedicine and strategies for negotiating challenging situations.  Student will complete a review of the comprehensive physical exam and perform multiple simulated patient encounters to practice history taking, physical exam, note writing, clinical reasoning and verbal presentation skills.  Acute Care focuses on differential diagnosis and initial work up for common chief complaints with emphasis on life threatening or time sensitive diagnoses as well as the roles and responsibilities of medical students in the clinical environment.  Students will learn to integrate basic science knowledge in the context of clinical presentation through interactive lectures, case based small groups and simulation.  Challenges of the clinic environment such as personal wellness, professionalism, asking for feedback and tips and tricks for clerkship success will be discussed. Common clinical procedures will be introduced in skills labs and simulations.  BLS certification, EPIC EMR training, infectious disease training, a mistreatment training module, and Comprehensive Clinical Skills OSCE Part 1 are required prior to beginning the clinical clerkships.

This clerkship which provides students with the opportunity to learn through an "immersion" experience in Family Medicine in a rural Nebraska community. The students participate in the care of the preceptor's patients under the direct supervision of the preceptor. Students care for patients in the office, hospital, and extended care facilities. A written report about a community health project is required. A portion of the core clerkship content is delivered on-site via the Internet.

 

Students spend one half of the 12-week clerkship as an integral member of a health care team responsible for the care of inpatients on the internal medicine service at either the Omaha Veterans Administration Hospital or The Nebraska Medical Center (main Nebraska Medicine inpatient facility). During the other half of the clerkship, students may elect a variety of medicine subspecialties and outpatient clinical experiences at Nebraska Medicine, the Omaha Veteran’s Administration Hospital and private practice internists. Throughout the clerkship, students assume responsibility for initial patient assessment and daily care, commensurate with their level of training, supervised by internal medicine residents and attending faculty. Skills in patient interaction, decision making, and the fundamentals of internal medicine are reviewed in formal sessions and daily attending rounds which are available to all students either on site or remotely.

 

Students are assigned to The Nebraska Medical Center or Methodist/Methodist Women’s Hospitals for inpatient experience, and to the Nebraska Medicine clinics for outpatient obstetric and gynecologic clinics. They follow the progress of patients in labor, assist at operative procedures, and maintain a complete record until the patient is discharged from the hospital. Outpatient experiences include participation in the following clinics: normal and complicated obstetrics, gynecology, and family planning. Seminars, conferences, and ward rounds are scheduled regularly, available on-site or remotely.

 

The Pediatrics clerkship provides an immersive exposure to the care of patients from infancy through adolescence.  The clerkship is divided into two tracks; with a portion of students assigned to community preceptors outside of Omaha for their ambulatory pediatric experience, and the remainder completing their entire clerkship in Omaha. All students complete two weeks of inpatient pediatrics at either The Nebraska Medical Center (Nebraska Medicine) or Children's Hospital and Medical Center.  Students also participate in selective experiences in ambulatory general pediatrics and various pediatric sub-specialties, as well as a structured didactic curriculum available on site or remotely.

 

The clinical structure of the rotation is two, 3-week rotations at two different sites. Sites include the Nebraska Medicine consult and liaison service, Nebraska Medicine Adult Crisis Unit inpatient service, VA Medical Center inpatient psychiatric unit, Lasting Hope Recovery Center psychiatric inpatient hospital, Community Alliance outpatient clinic, Nebraska Medicine addictions consult and liaison service, and Douglas County inpatient psychiatric services. Students experience outpatient psychiatric care by participating in the COPE clinic (Clinic for Outpatient Psychiatric Education) at Nebraska Medicine. Other electives and mentorship groups are available to enhance the psychiatry clerkship experience. Didactics are scheduled regularly for all clerkship students and take place on the UNMC main campus and available to off-site students remotely.

 

The surgical clerkship is divided between a structured educational curriculum (didactic lectures, computer-aided learning, and skills workshops), a five-week clinical rotation on general surgery and three-week rotation on surgical subspecialty. The general surgical portion of the clerkship places students at the Nebraska Medicine system, VA Medical Center, or Nebraska Methodist Hospital. Students are involved as an integral part of the ward team and participate in morning and afternoon rounds, as well as caring for patients in ambulatory surgery clinics.