Print Options

Clinical Applications

The Clinical Applications phase, which is 12 months in duration, provides students with extensive clinical learning experiences in six of the core disciplines of medicine.  In these clinical experiences, students begin to apply the knowledge and skills learned from the first phase toward formally caring for patients in both the hospital and ambulatory clinic settings.  Clinical rotations range from 6-12 weeks in length over the course of Phase 2.

Phase 2 begins with Acute Care and Clinical Transitions, a four-week block, that is followed by the six required clinical clerkships. We schedule clerkships via a lottery system and students will be given the opportunity to give input as to the order they wish to complete these clerkships.

View required textbooks for Phase 2.

Phase 2 Director: Amy Cutright, MD 
Phase 2 Education Coordinator: Nick McCormick

Block Duration Course
Acute Care and Clinical Transitions 4 weeks M-ID 532 - Acute Care and Clinical Transitions
Department Duration Course
Family Medicine 8 weeks FMED - 705 Community Preceptorship
Internal Medicine 12 weeks IMED - 705 Basic Medicine Required Clerkship
OB/GYN 6 weeks OBGY - 705 Junior Clinical Clerkship
Pediatrics 8 weeks PEDS - 703 Required Primary Clerkship in Pediatrics
Psychiatry 6 weeks PSYC - 705 Required Psychiatry Clerkship
Surgery 8 weeks SURG - 708 Primary Clerkship

The descriptions of the Acute Care Training block and the clerkships are below. The directors and support staff for each are also listed.

Acute Care and Clinical Transitions  

M-ID - 532 Acute Care and Clinical Transitions 

  • Occurs at the beginning of Phase 2
  • 4 credit hours
  • Director: Amy Cutright, MD
  • Coordinator: Office of Medical Education
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.
 

Family Medicine 

FMED - 705 Community Preceptorship

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.
 

Internal Medicine 

IMED - 705 Basic Medicine Required Clerkship

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.
 

OB-GYN 

OBGY - 705 Junior Clinical Clerkship

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.
 

Pediatrics 

PEDS - 703 Required Primary Clerkship in Pediatrics

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.
 

Psychiatry 

PSYC - 705 Required Psychiatry Clerkship

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.
 

Surgery 

SURG - 708 Primary Clerkship

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.