Medicine Subspecialties*

Course number:

MED 420

Faculty:

Faculty of the LSU Internal Medicine Department in Baton Rouge

Duration:

4 weeks

Availability:

All blocks

Number of students:

2 per block

Objectives and Means of Implementation:

The major objective of this rotation is to give exposure to the various subspecialties in Internal Medicine. A major focus of the rotation will be to provide one-on-one teaching using patients with diseases that are the most representative and important in that subspecialty. Students will be expected to attend morning report. Neither night call nor weekend clinical responsibilities will be required of the student during this rotation.

Acting Internship - Internal Medicine*

Course number:

MEC 419

Faculty:

Faculty of the LSU Internal Medicine Department in Baton Rouge

Duration:

4 weeks

Availability:

Senior acting internships may be taken as an elective if spots are available after assignment of acting internships to students at the EKL Hospital

Number of students:

Maximum of 8 students

Objectives and Means of Implementation:

To allow the senior student to function as an integral member of a team responsible for the inpatient care of ill patients in a setting which will closely simulate their expected experience as house officers. This experience will be under the supervision of house officers and faculty at each affiliated hospital. The participating hospital will establish criteria for student supervision recognizing that there may be minor variations in the level of clinical responsibility permitted to the student. In general, students will be regarded as interns with the limitation that their patient care activities are under the continuous supervision of responsible and qualified physicians.

Critical Care Medicine*

Course number:

MED 420

Faculty:

Faculty of the LSU Pulmonary & Critical Care Division in Baton Rouge

Duration:

4 weeks

Performance Site:

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge

Availability:

All blocks and summer

Number of students:

Maximum of 2 students

Objectives and Means of Implementation:

This four-week course is designed to develop fundamental skills in the evaluation and management of critically ill patients. The student will make daily rounds with interns, residents, and attending staff in the ICU. The student will be instructed in chest radiograph interpretation, ventilator management, hemodynamic management, and pulmonary artery catheter interpretation. The student may participate in the performance of supervised procedures that are needed in the care of the critically ill. Attendance at morning report is mandatory. Night call is not mandatory.

Principles in Clinical Decision Making: An Approach Based on Concept Maps*

Course number:

MEDC 424i*

Faculty:

Dr. George Karam, Dr. Guido DeJesus and Dr. John Godke

Duration:

4 weeks

Availability:

All blocks

Number of students:

Minimum of 2 students

Objectives and Means of Implementation:

Within medical school curricula, there has traditionally been little emphasis on how clinical decision making best occurs. In recent years, there has been emphasis placed on the use of concept maps in the formation of an approach to providing patient care. In contrast to algorithmic medicine, the use of concept maps focuses on pathophysiologic variables. The goal of this elective is to help students understand the role of concept maps and pathophysiologic reasoning in the approach to clinical problem solving. The rotation will consist of 4 components: 1) Attendance at morning report and a daily noon conference, at which the learning style is based on use of concept maps, 2) Formal small-group instruction to better learn the principles that influence development of concept maps and of pathophysiologic reasoning, 3) Participation in patient care encounters in internal medicine subspecialty clinics during which the principles of concept maps can be used in the provision of medical care, 4) An evaluation process that will consist of the student developing and presenting to peers a concept map approach for clinical decision making in a specific area of the specialty the student will ultimately pursue. Because of the nature of this elective, the grading system will be either Pass or Fail.