DOC-1: Emergency Medicine and the Undifferentiated Patient

Curriculum > Medicine 4 > DOC-1: Emergency Medicine and the Undifferentiated Patient

Goals:

1. Acquisition of basic life support skills including the recognition and management of airway emergencies, respiratory emergencies and shock and related basic procedural skills. Graduating medical students should be able to:
   1. Recognize when they are in the presence of a patient with a serious condition that necessitates urgent attention.
   2. Prioritize attention to those patients with more urgent conditions.
   3. Take the first steps necessary to save a life.
2. Differentiation and treatment of common acute problems. The student should have exposure to the initial evaluation and treatment of important acute problems such as: headache, acute myocardial infarction, cerebral vascular accident, burns, lacerations, extremity fractures, and intentional or unintentional ingestions.
3. Assessment of the undifferentiated patient. The typical undifferentiated patient has possible etiologies that cover multiple organ systems and medical specialties, which will compel the student to explore the full range of possibilities, and then test hypotheses with diagnostic interventions.

Prerequisites:

Successful completion of Med3 College of Medicine clerkships.

Clinical Sites:

All participating clinical sites must meet the following criteria:

1. All sites must have patients who would meet the definition of the emergency patient.
2. The student must be able to see the patient primarily as opposed to having a preceptorship experience.
3. The site must provide sufficient patient volume (i.e., one patient per hour minimum).
4. The clinical experience should involve a minimum of 32 hours per week.

Didactic Experience:

The core didactic experience will be administered at OSU by faculty of the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics. It will consist of case conferences centered on the approach to patients with certain chief complains. Principles to be emphasized include the diagnosis and initial management of these patients.

In addition to the core didactic case conferences, students would be encouraged to attend rounds/case conferences, which correspond to their clinical experiences.

Students will be given textbooks at the beginning of the clerkship to supplement the core didactic case components.

Evaluation Methods:

The majority of the student’s grade will be based on clinical evaluations. These evaluations will be completed by the attendings who are precepting the students in the various emergency departments. In addition, students will be required to take a written examination at the end of the clerkship that will test material taught in the didactic sessions, as well as in reading requirements. Finally, students will be tested via an oral examination based on submitted cases.

Course Administration:

Student Assignments: Students will choose their clinical sites through the computerized COM scheduling system. These sites will include both rural settings, as well as Franklin County settings.

DOC-1 Director:

Dr. Sorabh Khandelwal, Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine

Grade Administration:

Grades will be determined by the DOC-1 Director with the exception of those rotating at Children’s Hospital. These students will be graded by the Department of Pediatrics with input from the DOC-1 Director.

Course Catalog and Scheduling

An on-line course catalog of the DOC electives is available for student review.

Schedule your DOC selectives online.