Curriculum and Clerkships

For details about Family Medicine elective clerkships in each community, see Family Medicine Electives Notebook (pdf) (Word).

FMP 580. Special Topics in Family Medicine

Fall, spring, summer. 2 to 3 credits. A student may earn a maximum of 6 credits in all enrollments of this course.

R: Graduate-professional students in colleges of Human and Osteopathic Medicine.

Exploration of special aspects of Family Medicine. Possible examples include ethnicity and aging, clinical nutrition, sports medicine, death and dying, health care of women, research methods in primary care.

FMP 608. Family Medicine Clerkship

Fall, Spring, Summer. 6 to 18 credits. A student may earn a maximum of 36 credits in all enrollments for this course.

Open only to graduate professional students in College of Human Medicine.

Clinical experience in primary care in family physicians offices and in hospitals.

FMP 610. Elective Clerkship in Family Medicine — Outpatient

The Family Medicine elective clerkship trains the student in the broad range of patient problems cared for in Family Medicine, with particular emphasis on patient interviewing, clinical procedures, diagnosis, and the use of community resources. The clerkship often helps students to clarify their career goals concerning Family Medicine. The Family Medicine elective clerkship may be taken as a four or an eight week block experience.

Prerequisites: Completion of FMP 608, Family Medicine Clerkship and approval of the clerkship coordinator in the Department of Family Medicine. It is recommended that students complete most or all of their required clerkships before taking this elective.

Intended Audience: Fourth year students in the College of Human Medicine.

FMP 611. Geriatrics Elective

R: Open only to third or fourth year graduate-professional students in College of Human Medicine.

Participate in interdisciplinary team evaluation of geriatric patient; gain experience in recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of geriatric problems; and understand the process of advance care directives. This elective may be taken as a four-week block experience.

FMP 612. Inpatient Clerkship in Family Medicine

This four week clerkship introduces students to the role of the family physician in caring for hospitalized patients. While most of the work-load and many of the distinctive skills of the family physicians are centered in the office practice, some of the patients seen in the office must from time to time be admitted to the hospital. For the hospitalized patients, the family physician remains the primary physician. Compared to patients seen in the office, however, a greater proportion of the problems of hospitalized patients require consultations with and referrals to other specialists. Management of the care of the hospitalized patient, and especially of the relationships among physicians and other health care providers in the hospital, is the major focus of attention in this clerkship. This elective clerkship may be taken as a four- or eight-week block experience.

Prerequisities: Completion of FMP 608 or equivalent, is a prerequisite to this clerkship. Prior completion of most of the required clerkships, especially the medicine clerkship, is highly recommended.

Intended Audience: Fourth year students in medical school.

FMP 613. Clinical Research in Family Medicine

This elective is offered in two modes: as a purely clinical experience, and as a combined clinical and research experience. It is intended for third and fourth year medical students with a research interest in primary care. Students enrolled in this research elective will learn the practical application of basic research skills through involvement in a primary care research project. This elective clerkship may be taken as a four-week block experience. A paper is required for final evaluation.

Open only to CHM fourth year medical students.

FMP 616: Advanced Rural Family Medicine Elective

This clerkship is designed to enhance the medical students ability to integrate clinical medicine with experience in rural medical communities in the Upper Peninsula (UP).

The medical student will care for residents in rural communities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. An emphasis of the clerkship is on patient care management by the family physicians. Two separate settings are available for this clerkship: rural communities, or Native American communities. The location of the clerkship will be decided between the community administrator and medical student. This elective clerkship may be taken as a four-week block experience.

Open only to CHM fourth year medical students not assigned to the Upper Peninsula campus.

Prerequisites: Completion of all required third year medical clerkships of Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Medicine, Psychiatry, Surgery, and Obstetrics/Gynecology. Medical student must be in good standing with educational program.

Intended Audience: Fourth year medical students in the College of Human Medicine.

FMP 617. Sports Medicine Clerkship

Primary care aspects of sports medicine. Care of acute and chronic sports injuries, mostly of college level athletes. A paper is required for final evaluation. This elective clerkship may be taken as a four- or eight-week block experience.

FMP 618: Palliative Care/End of Life Elective

Basic knowledge and skills necessary to manage patients and families faced with end of life illnesses. Paper required for final evaluation.

FMP 620. Family Medicine Sub-Internship Elective Clerkship

The Family Medicine Sub-Internship Elective Clerkship is in Community Practices and Community Health Centers (CP-CHC) for the underserved throughout Michigan. The purpose of this clerkship is to give the fourth year medical student the opportunity to be involved in the care and management of patients. Medical students will select the site of the clerkship in coordination with the Family Medicine Department (FM) in East Lansing. A community project and paper are required with prior approval of project when elective is approved by the department. This elective clerkship may be taken as a four-week block experience. Open only to CHM fourth year medical students.