Chapter 1 The Pediatric Clerkship
What Does the Pediatric Clerkship Emphasize?
The pediatric clerkship emphasizes human growth and development, common clinical problems, uncommon but important disease processes, prevention of illness, and promotion of health. You will participate in clinical activities that take place in outpatient and inpatient services and that are supervised by both general pediatricians and subspecialists. Many clerkships also provide the opportunity to work with community-based pediatricians in practices outside the medical center. More than 90% of the pediatric clerkships in the United States are based on the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) General Pediatric Clerkship Curriculum (http://comsep.org). This book is also based on that curriculum.
How Should I Approach the Pediatric Clerkship?
Your career plans may not include a primary focus on children, but you are likely to use skills that you gain from the pediatric clerkship to interact with ill and healthy children in both your professional and personal lives. Enthusiasm, a commitment to learning, and dedication to the well-being of your patients will be crucial to your success. Time and perseverance will provide the experiences that will eventually help you achieve competency beyond your initial expectations. If you make the effort, you will develop an ability to interact successfully with infants, children, and adolescents (and their parents).
How Should I Assess My Readiness for the Clerkship?
At the start of the clerkship, take an inventory of your competency with the basic medical interview, the general physical examination, and clinical decision making, because these are the foundations for pediatric-focused skills. “Real world” experiences with healthy children, such as being a baby-sitter, lifeguard, coach, camp counselor, teacher, sibling, aunt, uncle, or parent, will give you a perspective on the patients and families with whom you will work. Clinically focused experiences with children (e.g., as an emergency medical technician or a laboratory technician) will complement the clinical skills that you will be expected to master in the clerkship. Use the clerkship objectives and a table of core clinical experiences (such as the one in Table 1-1) to make a self-assessment of your pediatric-specific knowledge and your experiences with pediatric clinical problems (e.g., none, some, a lot).
How Can I Learn Most Effectively on the Clerkship?
This text and others can assist you to expand knowledge. A list of core pediatric experiences such as the one developed by COMSEP (Table 1-1) can be used to ensure that your clinical encounters are comprehensive. Your clerkship is likely to have a specific list of core experiences in the handbook or on the Web site. The Computer-assisted Learning in Pediatrics Program (CLIPP: http://clippcases.org) is based on the COMSEP Curriculum and provides Web-based virtual clinical experiences to aid learning and to supplement clinical encounters.
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