Our orientation to the Longitudinal (Outpatient) Clerkship today really got me excited about the next step in training. Most of our clerkships will be 8 week rotations through the hospital in areas such as pediatrics, (adult) medicine, emergency medicine, neurology and psychiatry, and ob/gyn during years 3 and 4. But we are actually given a wonderful opportunity to start our clinical training early by being paired with a physician and spending 5 hours a week at that practice seeing patients!
The goal is to practice the interviewing skills and physical exam skills that we began to learn last semester. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to see how a practice is run, how referrals, scheduling, follow-ups, and administrative tasks are handled, learn how insurance works (or doesn't work) and how patients experience their interaction with the health care system.
I was paired with an OB/GYN in a community practice in Howard County, Maryland. Although I'm a little nervous to begin interacting with patients outside of the Simulation Center where we practiced on Standardized Patient Actors and Physical Exam Teaching Assistants, I'm mostly excited to get out of the classroom and into the real world setting of my future career!
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