Typical

Clerkship Setting Unique skills and clinical knowledge Top 10 topics

duration

 Skills

o Taking a comprehensive history and performing a thorough physical

 Diabetes mellitus
examination
 Acute coronary syndrome
o Interpreting laboratory values and other diagnostic measures,
 Congestive heart failure
e.g., ECG or imaging
 ECG
o Displaying cultural sensitivity and communication skills to address
Internal medicine Mostly inpatient  Hypertension
8–12 weeks patients appropriately in life-changing situations like choosing a treatment regimen
clerkship (can be outpatient)  Anemia
o Establishing diagnosis, differential diagnoses, and different
 Pneumonia
diagnostic and treatment options
 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
o Assisting in/performing small procedures (e.g., central lines, arterial
 Asthma
lines, thoracentesis, and paracentesis)
 Overview of antibiotic therapy
 Clinical knowledge: common acute and chronic diseases in the adult

population

Pediatrics clerkship 4–8 weeks Usually inpatient  Skills  Immunization schedule

(can be outpatient)
o Taking a pediatric history  Child development and milestones

o Performing a physical examination of newborns, infants, children,  Asthma

and adolescents  Rheumatic fever

o Displaying professional conduct, ethics, and communication with  Acyanotic congenital heart defects

children and their caregivers  Cyanotic congenital heart defects

o Establishing diagnosis and initial management of pediatric illnesses  Congenital immunodeficiency disorders
 Typical
Clerkship Setting Unique skills and clinical knowledge Top 10 topics
duration

o Taking care of well-child visits and counseling of adolescents during

outpatient service

o Assisting in/performing minor procedures (e.g. placement/removal of

umbilical arterial/venous catheters, neonatal resuscitation, laceration

 The newborn infant
repairs, flu testing, circumcision)
 Congenital TORCH infections
 Clinical knowledge
 Inborn errors of metabolism
o Specific characteristics of family-centered rounding

o Common acute and chronic pediatric diseases

o Pediatric physiology and its implication for disease pathogenesis,

diagnostics, and treatment

Neurology clerkship 4 weeks Usually inpatient  Skills  Overview of stroke

(can be outpatient)
o Performing a neurological examination, recognizing neurological  Neurological examination

deficits, and developing a differential diagnosis  Meningitis

o Interpreting neuroimaging studies (CT, MRI, angiography) and  Seizure disorders

identifying radiographic features of various pathologies, such as strokes, tumors,  Multiple sclerosis

trauma, and demyelination  Neurocutaneous syndromes

o Assisting in and/or performing bedside lumbar puncture  Brain tumors

 Clinical knowledge  Major neurocognitive disorder

o Pharmacology of the major drug groups used to treat neurological  Cranial nerve palsies

diseases, such as antiepileptics, antidementia drugs, and antiparkinson drugs.  Guillain-Barré syndrome

 Typical
Clerkship Setting Unique skills and clinical knowledge Top 10 topics
duration

o Clinical neuroanatomy

 Skills

o Conducting a systematic psychiatric interview, including the

performance and documentation of a comprehensive mental status examination  Antidepressants

o Displaying an empathetic attitude towards all psychiatric patients and  Antipsychotics

their families  Psychotherapy and defense mechanisms

o Establishing a rapport with patients in acute distress (e.g., psychotic,  Major depressive disorder

Psychiatry Usually inpatient aggressive, or suicidal patients) and providing appropriate counseling  Bipolar disorder
4–6 weeks
clerkship (can be outpatient)  Clinical knowledge  Anxiety disorders

o DSM-5 criteria for the most common mental disorders, as well as  Schizophrenia

their pathophysiology, clinical findings, diagnosis, and treatment  Alcohol-related disorders

o Mechanism of action, major side effects, indications, and  Substance-related and addictive disorde

contraindications of the most commonly used psychotropic drugs such  Suicidality

as antidepressants and antipsychotics

o Most common drugs of abuse and their side effects

Obstetrics and 4–8 weeks Mostly inpatient  Skills  Prenatal care

gynecology (can be outpatient)
o Taking history with a specific focus on aspects such as last menstrual  Pregnancy
clerkship
period, previous pregnancy complications, estimated gestational age,  Hypertensive pregnancy disorders

and gravidity and parity.  Childbirth

o Reading and interpreting the results or relevant diagnostic studies  Congenital TORCH infections
 Typical
Clerkship Setting Unique skills and clinical knowledge Top 10 topics
duration

(e.g., fetal biophysical profile, Pap smear results, biopsy findings)

o Performing pelvic and breast examination  The menstrual cycle and menstrual cycl

o Acquiring suturing and knot-tying skills for surgical procedures abnormalities

o Reading fetal heart tracings during labor and delivery  Benign breast conditions

 Clinical knowledge  Breast cancer

o Basic principles of prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care  Cervical cancer

o Most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as  Ovarian tumors

their management principles

Surgery clerkship 8–12 weeks Mostly inpatient  Skills  Skin and soft tissue infections
(can be outpatient)
o Obtaining a full medical history and physical examination for  Acute abdomen

patients with acute and chronic surgical conditions  Cholelithiasis, choledocholithiasis, chol

o Displaying cultural sensitivity and communication skills to address , and cholangitis

patients appropriately in life-changing situations, e.g., before procedures  Bowel obstruction

o Formulating differential diagnosis, interpreting test results, and  Acute appendicitis

discussing surgical treatment options in the context of common surgical  Diverticular disease

pathologies  Colorectal cancer

o Professional and appropriate operation room conduct, e.g.,  Gastric cancer

etiquette, scrubbing in, and learning to maintain sterile fields  Inguinal hernias

o Assisting in surgeries, which may include suturing and  Thyroid cancer

knotting, retracting, and guiding laparoscopic cameras

 Typical
Clerkship Setting Unique skills and clinical knowledge Top 10 topics
duration

 Clinical knowledge

o Common acute and chronic diseases that require surgical evaluation

o Indications, alternatives, and main steps of common surgical

procedures

 Diabetes mellitus

 Skills  Overview of antibiotic therapy

o Working efficiently while having very limited time for each patient  Congestive heart failure

encounter  Pneumonia

o Assisting in/performing small procedures such as joint injections  Breast cancer

Family medicine Typically
∼ 4 weeks o Providing counseling to individuals and their families  Anemia
clerkship outpatient
 Clinical knowledge  Hypertension

o Common acute and chronic diseases in family medicine  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

o Preventive measures  Asthma

o Health maintenance  The menstrual cycle and menstrual cycl

abnormalities