Patient Logs - General Information
The LCME (the accrediting body for medical schools) requires medical schools to track the kinds of patients students see. At the UFCOM we developed a log system that we hope will be relatively simple to use for you while also giving you specific guidance for the types of clinical presentations, procedures, and clinical skills that are most important for every student to see, experience, and develop by the time of graduation. This data also gives the faculty helpful information about our curriculum and how we can make it better. Finally, the log is a work-in-progress and we continually work to make it a system that will allow you to easily track your progress throughout medical school with options to add your own personal touch to make the information meaningful to you. The following section reviews key information about each aspect of the patient log to help you get the most out of the experience.
Clinical Presentations
The clinical presentation list is the most important part of the patient log as every clinical clerkship tracks content in this list. This list was developed through consensus with all the clerkship directors and is meant to represent the presentations that are so core to a general professional education that every student should see a patient with that presentation prior to graduation. You will notice the list focuses more on symptoms than diagnoses as we believe it is more important for you to develop a sound approach to evaluating certain clinical presentations rather than seeing a host of specific diseases. Though we are confident you will get to see (and diagnose) many fascinating diseases during the clinical years.
Procedures
The procedure list is divided into the following three sections:
- Procedures to be performed or actively assisted when needed- This is the core list of procedures that you will need for most internships (e.g. suture placement) or to round out your general professional education (e.g. spontaneous vaginal delivery- most of you won’t be delivering babies, but society still expects an MD to have done this in case of an emergency). If you complete the individual clerkship procedure requirements, you will complete this list.
- Procedures to be observed- These are some common procedure too advanced for you to perform but that you are required to at least see. Many of you will have an opportunity to actually assist in these procedures. If you complete the individual clerkship procedure requirements, you will complete this list.
- Optional procedures- This is a list of procedures you may or may not have heard of, but they are common enough that a motivated medical student could see them all. This list is informational only.
Clinical Skills
The clinical skills list is divided into physical examination, data collection and interpretation, patient management, and counseling simply for organizational convenience. Everything on these lists is being tracked in at least one clerkship. These are very basic skills and you should practice them often even if you do not log them every time you practice them.
