Curriculum Phase II

Transition to Clerkships

The third year begins with a two-week foundations course, Transition to Clerkships (formerly known as Clinical Foundations), is designed to provide students the key elements for success in the clinical clerkships. Course lectures, simulation, and skill building help students bridge previous knowledge and skills with new concepts, practices, expectations, and attitudes that they will encounter on their upcoming clinical rotations. 

Chairs:

Areti Tillou, MD
Antonio Pessegueiro, MD

Core Clinical Clerkships

Transition to Clerkships is followed by 48 weeks of core clerkships, each of which includes an orientation period to prepare students with the clinical skills needed in the specific rotation. Click on the Clerkship to learn more about their sites, leadership, and their educational course objectives. Clerkship required clinical experiences can be found here.  A list of Clerkship Chairs, Site Directors and Coordinators can be found here (please note you must open the document on your desktop or download in order to see all fields).

• Ambulatory Internal Medicine (4 weeks)
• Family Medicine (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Internal Medicine (8 weeks)
• Neurology (4 weeks)
• Obstetrics & Gynecology (6 weeks)
• Pediatrics (6 weeks)
• Psychiatry (4 weeks)
• Surgery (12 weeks)

Three longitudinal courses continue throughout the year:

• Longitudinal Preceptorship -- Students spend two afternoons a month with a community-based outpatient preceptor to improve skills in clinical assessment and explore possible career choices.
  Chair: Tahlia Spector, MD
• Longitudinal Radiology -- Core topics in radiology are included in the didactic sessions for each of the clerkships and include an emphasis on the use of imaging as diagnostic and treatment modalities.
  Chair: Theodore R. Hall, MD
• Systems Based Health Care (SBHC) -- Small groups of students meet twice a month to develop an understanding of the dimensions of the health care system and implications for patient care, access to care, and interprofessional collaborative practice.
  Chair: Margaret Stuber, MD

If needed, please use the policies and procedures outlined in this document to request an alternative site/team. 

Clinical Performance Examination (CPX)

Phase II ends with a required Clinical Performance Examination (CPX). All students are required to complete and pass the examination which consists of eight clinical cases which are decided on by the California Consortium for the Assessment of Clinical Competence, CCACC. Each case is portrayed by standardized patients and requires a focused work up and is followed by a written exercise. Individual feedback is provided for purposes of improving history taking, physical examination, information sharing, and patient/doctor relationship skills. 

Chairs:

Estebes Hernandez, MD
Daniel Kahn, MD