MED6007

Medicine (city/rural)

Professor N Thomson, Associate Professor B McGrath and Dr H Newnham

5-week 'student intern' rotation and 9-week teaching blocks combined with surgery in a rural hospital, a private city hospital and the specialty wards and clinics of a major city teaching hospital.

Objectives On completion of this subject, students will have a clear understanding of how to formulate a problem list and a medical diagnosis based on history examination and appropriate investigation of the patient; the formulation of a management plan for common medical problems seen in the hospital setting; practical skills required to manage patients in a hospital and experience in carrying these out; communication skills required to accurately and sensitively present and discuss medical problems with professional colleagues and with patients; how to interpret commonly utilised medical investigations; the basis of utilisation of commonly used therapeutic agents including mechanisms of action, side effects and cost with an ability to access this information for less commonly used agents; the interacting role of all health professionals who provide inpatient care; the preparation of an appropriate discharge plan for patients; differences that exist in mortality and morbidity patterns in the rural setting and particular aspects of rural culture; advantages and disadvantages of both specialty practice and general practice in rural areas including personal, professional and family issues involved; the spectrum of medical illness seen in the private sector and aspects of decision making regarding investigation and management in this setting; aspects of city specialty practice involving a limited range of specialties which require reinforcement to enable competent medical practice to begin in the following year.

Synopsis The major city teaching hospital rotation consists of a continuous attachment to a general medical unit with integration of activities with junior staff members of the unit and involvement in all activities involving the full medical unit; clerking of patients entering the unit and documenting illness details, a problem list and plan of investigation and management in the patient folder; presentation of patients to unit members at ward rounds and at other designated times; formal bedside clinical skills tutorials including long case presentations. In the private and rural hospital setting and the specialty clinic and unit attachment in the major city teaching hospital, involvement in outpatient clinics and ward based activities with supervised clinical work including practise of relevant procedural skills; formal and informal case presentations emphasising clinical diagnosis, problem solving and management skills; attachment to an emergency service operating outside normal working hours in a rural setting.

Assessment Continuous assessment (satisfactory faculty requirement)

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