Acting Internship in Medicine - GWUH

The purpose of the Acting Internship in Medicine at GWU hospital is to provide a structured clinical experience in the expansive field of internal medicine and sub-specialty areas necessary for the care of the hospitalized patient. It is designed to be a well-supervised educational experience that augments the cognitive and technical clinical skills attained during the third year medicine clerkship. The student will function as an acting intern (sub-intern) and will conduct patient evaluations, engage in supervised order-entry and prescription writing, retrieve evidence to advance patient care, perform patient handovers, and collaborate as an integral member of an inter-professional team. In addition to self-directed learning, regular focused student didactics, intern conferences and bedside teaching during ward rounds are organized to provide a well-rounded educational experience.

Please note the following:

1. Students who have specific interests in oncology or pulmonary medicine can request placement on these specialty teams at least 21 days before the start date by contacting the clerkship director AND coordinator via email with specific reasons for placement. Based on availability, placements will be made, but these are not guaranteed.
2. Vacation requests for up to three dates may be requested at least 21 days before the start date by contacting the clerkship director AND coordinator via email with specific reasons for the request. These will be considered, but are not guaranteed. Vacation dates that fall on the on-call and post-call days on the medicine team will not be granted. Any days beyond two working dates that are missed will need to be made up by working extra on non-weekend days.
3. Requests to add/drop the course within 30 days of the course start date must be approved by both the clerkship director AND coordinator via email.

Course Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Perform a comprehensive history and physical exam.
2. Demonstrate the development of a differential diagnosis, work-up and treatment plan for patients admitted to the inpatient medicine service.
3. Demonstrate effective oral and written case presentation skills for new patients, follow up care, and transitions of care.
4. Interpret the rationale and pros and cons of common internal medicine procedures.
5. Demonstrate empathic patient-centered communication when interpreting management plans, risks/benefits, end-of-life care, treatments and behavioral changes with patients and medical personnel.
6. Apply medical standards, clinical practice guidelines and practice algorithms relevant to patients' medical conditions.
7. Demonstrate the ability to navigate through specialty consultations, care management services, discussions with nutrition, psychiatry and psychiatry teams, and other interdisciplinary care requirements to ensure complete co-ordination of care for the patient's well-being.
8. Demonstrate appropriate professional and ethical behaviors related to patients and other health care professionals.

See syllabus for additional details.