Clerkship Structure

Educational Philosophy

"The third-year internal medicine clerkship's role in the education of medical students is to teach fundamental knowledge and develop skills and behaviors necessary to care for adult patients, regardless of the students' final career paths. In the context of caring for patients, medical students learn a logical approach to diagnosis of significant symptoms and signs, basic therapeutic approaches to common diseases ranging from emergent to chronic, and an understanding of the role of the internist in caring for people across the spectrum from healthy to critically ill." (Woolliscroft, JO. The Internal Medicine Clerkship and the National Debate on Primary Care Education. Am J Med. 1994;96:IV-VII.)

We believe that this mission is best achieved by providing students hands-on experience combined with in-depth reading and discussion. Recently, a national consortium of experts published a core curriculum for the internal medicine clerkship. This curriculum identifies the national consensus view on course priorities. Interaction with patients remains the cornerstone of the curriculum. Students, under supervision, are assigned patients for evaluation. Faculty will help students to develop basic clinical competencies in the context of encounters with patients. Core clinical competencies and priorities are defined later in this syllabus. Teaching conferences and other instructional activities supplement, but in no way replace bedside interaction with patients.

Organization of the Clerkship

Bismarck

The clerkship is divided into four weeks on the Internal Medicine teaching service and two two-week sessions with an internist or subspecialist.

Fargo

The clerkship is divided into two rotations of four weeks each. Each student will be assigned to four weeks on a hospital teaching service. Hospital teaching services are located at Sanford Health. Students will be assigned to four weeks with a preceptor at an ambulatory site.

Grand Forks

The clerkship is divided into four weeks on the hospitalist teaching service and four weeks with a preceptor(s) at an ambulatory site. All are located at Altru Health System.

Blackboard

Registered users (students, faculty and staff) will have access to our Clerkship requirements within Blackboard.  Once logged into Blackboard (using your IdM username and password) find the heading My Organizations and content will be under Internal Medicine Clerkship.