1. What is the user ID and password for the seminar materials?
Username: clerkship and Password: 3yrintmed
2. Can I keep adding to my procedure and patient logs as the
clerkship progresses or do I need to wait until the end of the
clerkship to enter the data?
Absolutely, our computerized logs will save data as you add it to
create a cumulative list at the end of the clerkship. There is no need
to keep a written log of this information.
3. How can I see what patients and/or procedures I have already
entered into my logs?
At this time the only way we can do this is by asking Kathy to
print it for you. We are currently working to revise these logs so
that you can look at them and print them as often as you would like.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
4. Do I have to take official holidays off or can I take a
different day off instead?
The clerkship policy is one day off per week on average including
official holidays. It is up to you (and pending the approval of your
team and the clerkship director) to take a different day rather than
an official holiday or to pool your days if you need a weekend off.
5. I need to go to a very important event that will take me more
than one day off. Is this allowed in certain circumstances?
The clerkship policy is one day off per week on average including
official holidays. It is up to you (and pending the approval of your
team and the clerkship director) to take a different day rather than
an official holiday or to pool your days if you need a weekend off.
6. Should I type my H&Ps, reflective writing, portfolio entries,
etc.?
There is no need to type, scan, or Xerox anything yourself. We have
secretarial support who can help with this. In fact, you are
discouraged from this kind of busywork as there are many better ways
to use the precious time you have on this busy clerkship.
7. Why can’t we go to the resident conferences and have the
clerkship conferences at a different time?
The core clerkship conferences are scheduled simultaneously with
the resident conferences on purpose. Residents are required to attend
their conferences and thus, should create no pressure (such as
rounding late) to prevent you from attending your conference. The
clerkship conferences are selected to be the critical topics we think
you need at your stage of training. While the residents have excellent
conferences, they may be at a different level than you need or not
cover the core topics you need in your 8 weeks as their conferences
run over a year’s schedule.
However, you are welcome to attend a resident conference of
particular interest to you. The schedule is posted on the residency
website: www.medicine.ufl.edu/resid/
8. Why can’t conference _______ be at a different time?
Chances are whichever conference or teaching activity whose time
you don’t like could be moved (with a few exceptions). However, a
different set of students would likely then be unhappy. “You can
please some of the people some of the time but you can’t please all of
the people all of the time.” We had to commit to certain times.
9. Why do I go to the same subspecialty clinic as my ward attending
(e.g. ID ward attending and ID clinic) rather have exposure to a
different subspecialty?
The reasoning behind this is that by having you rotate in clinic
with your ward attending, it would foster more one-on-one contact with
your attending and you would already have a sense of your attending’s
expectations, which might make the limited clinic experiences more
efficient and beneficial.
10. Why don’t we go to general medicine clinics?
You have two weeks exposure to outpatient general internal medicine
during your 12 week ambulatory medicine clerkship.
11. Why are some clinics scheduled in the morning as this is very
inconvenient?
We simply do not have enough clinics in the afternoon that we think
are of good teaching benefit to students. We try to limit the morning
clinics to some of our best teaching faculty to make up for the
frustration of missing rounds.
12. Why did an attending who had no contact with me whatsoever fill
out my summative evaluation?
We ask some of our more experienced teaching faculty to act as
“grading facilitators”. They in no way contribute to your evaluation.
Rather, they try to promote consensus and constructive comments from
your interns, resident, and attending(s) with whom you worked and are
present at this session.
13. How long do we get for the exam?
Two hours and ten minutes (the national standard and requirement)
and it goes by very quickly so pace yourselves!
14. Why don’t you tell _______ (interns, residents, attendings)
that we have clinics, conferences, portfolios, and other
responsibilities?
We make multiple attempts to disseminate this information,
particularly the teaching expectations for them and all the clerkship
responsibilities and expectations of you. However, just like in my
medical school class and yours, there are always people who don’t
attend, don’t read, don’t listen, or simply mean well but forget. If
you are having a specific problem, tell the clerkship director right
away as our faculty and housestaff are almost always very receptive to
a gentle reminder of education about this.
15. Can we get food at the resident conference to take to our
conferences?
No, that would be very tacky. But, you are welcome to attend the
resident conferences and if you do so, help yourself to the food.
16. I don’t feel comfortable handing out the patient evaluation
form, can someone else do this?
Absolutely, this is valuable feedback for you but it is
understandable why you may feel awkward. Your PCRM or the nurse is a
good resource for this with inpatients as they meet with the patients
prior to discharge. (You may just want to remind them to either return
the form to you or put it in campus mail.) Patients are commonly asked
to fill out satisfaction forms in the clinics, so I wouldn’t worry as
much about handing them out there.
17. Who sees the peer and patient evaluation data?
You and the clerkship director (the clerkship program assistant
prints it out, but does not review it). This information is accessed
and printed after grades are assigned and it is not given to Dr.
Duff’s office. (However, you should already be aware that the dean,
associate and assistant deans, Dr. Rathe, and Cynthia Karle have
access to pretty much any data in the CGI system if they want it.
Fortunately they are quite trustworthy and have plenty of better
things to do with their time that look up your data. But, I don’t
want to mislead you in anyway.)
