Organization of the Elective
The following is an overview of the organization of the 4th year Medical School Endocrine Elective.
1. Orientation: Dr. Cantley will meet with the students the week prior to/the first day of the rotation.
2. Endocrine Clinic: Students will attend an Endocrine clinic on all occasions that do not conflict with their other responsibilities of this rotation. This is a fundamental component of the rotation. Failure to attend clinic is equivalent to failure to attend rounds on an inpatient service.
During clinics, you will see patients WITH the attending. This structure will allow you to have numerous exposures to Endocrine patients in a short time frame and will give you the opportunity to augment your skills (thyroid palpation, adjusting insulin regimes, etc.) efficiently through the many one-on-one interactions shared with the attending.
3. Inpatient consultations: It is the resident's responsibility to ensure that the appropriate history and physical examination is obtained on each consult, and to follow the patient's progress during the hospitalization. The medical students will be assigned to follow consults along with the resident, but the resident remains primarily responsible. Residents are not to offer suggestions to the housestaff or make recommendations in the chart until the patient has been presented to the attending. The times for consult rounds will be set by the attending of the month, but SHALL NOT interfere with clinic obligations.
4. Conferences: Students will attend each of the following conferences:
Endocrine Conference: Wednesdays, 1:00-2:00 p.m., Endocrine conference room, E floor, Nutrition Bldg
Internal Medicine Grand Rounds: Thursdays, 8:00-9:00 a.m., Commons area
Thyroid Conference is held every other Friday at 7:30 a.m.. This conference is optional.
5. Reading list: Completion of the reading list is an essential part of the Endocrine Elective. It consists of review articles from the general medicine literature concerning important endocrine and metabolic issues.
6. Final Exam: At the conclusion of the elective, there will be a written test for the residents (but not for students) covering material primarily from the reading list.
7. Diabetes Education: You are required to spend one session with the "Senior Adult Learning About Diabetes" ("SALAD") course. This is held 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. at the Diabetes Care Center at Piedmont Plaza (5th floor) on every Wednesday throughout the year. Contact the Diabetes Nurse Educator at 6-8234 to let her know you are coming.
8. Department of Internal Medicine Activities: You are expected to attend the regularly scheduled conferences for the Department of Internal Medicine.
The faculty of the Section on Endocrinology is committed to provide a valuable educational experience during your rotation. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this elective.
K. Patrick Ober, M.D.