Inpatient US Clinical Experience in Internal Medicine/Family Medicine in Orlando

Information about this clinical experience:

You will be under the supervision of a board-certified physician. This physician is a leader in the medicine department of the hospital, which includes internal medicine and family medicine. The preceptor holds hospital privileges at Advent Health. The physician has had extensive experience teaching international medical students and graduates, and this is part of what gives this doctor joy as a healthcare professional.

You will see patients with the preceptor in the hospital from 7 AM to 7 PM. The typical patient census is 17-25 patients per day. You will see patients in the following areas:

• Medical-Surgical Unit

• ICU/CCU

• Progressive Care Unit (Step-Down Unit)

• Medical Telemetry

• Emergency Room

Your morning will begin with prerounds during which you will check in with patients to assess how they are feeling and inquire about any new developments or events that have occurred overnight. You will also touch base with the nurse to understanding any nursing perspectives or concerns. After the pertinent data has been gathered, you will present your patients to the attending. You will then visit patients at the bedside with the attending. On a typical day, you will round on approximately 25 patients.

Following attending rounds, you will accompany the preceptor to multidisciplinary rounds. This is a meeting attended by the attending physician, charge nurse and other registered nurses, case managers, and the pharmacist. During these rounds, every patient, new or old, is discussed as a group. A summary will be provided of the patient's reason for hospitalization, course of treatment, expected length of stay, necessary consults to be placed, plans for discharge, and follow-up care. Barriers to patient care and discharge will be raised and addressed. Your role will be to present your cases, answer questions, and take notes on action items for the patient's plan of care.

After rounds are completed, you will work with the team to implement the day's plans. Periodically, your attending will be on call. With new admissions, you may be able to assist the attending in performing the history and exam in the ED, discuss differential diagnoses, formulate assessments and plans, and complete the admission workup.

During your experience, you will learn the following U.S. medical practices under the preceptor’s supervision:

• Taking patient histories under supervision.

• Performing exams under the physician's supervision.

• Presenting patients.

• Access information in the EMR (Epic)

• Ordering tests and medications

• Requesting specialty consultations

• Researching the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.

• Educating patients under supervision.

• Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.

You may have opportunities to attend Grand Rounds at the hospital as well as patient safety and ethics committee meetings.