BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — It is an impressive accomplishment — and one that many thought would never happen. FAU’s first class of med students are now in year three and will be training at several area hospitals.
According to FAU:
The inaugural class members of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University have entered their third year of medical school and are headed to seven South Florida hospitals to begin their clinical clerkships. Following two years of rigorous instruction, hands-on training and shadowing physicians, these students will now focus on developing their clinical skills and learning to take responsibility for patient care under close supervision of community physicians and affiliated hospitals.
Year-three clerkship sites for FAU’s medical school are Bethesda Hospital East, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Delray Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center in Palm Beach County; Cleveland Clinic Florida, Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Broward County; as well as numerous affiliated clinical sites and private physician offices.
“This is a crucial and momentous time of growth in the development of every physician,” said David J. Bjorkman, M.D., M.S.P.H., dean of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. “Our students are going to approach the hospital wards replete with the knowledge they have gained and will be tasked with the responsibility of applying that knowledge to the care of patients. This is a very proud moment for our new medical school.”
The clinical clerkships include internal medicine, surgery, radiology, emergency medicine (ER), critical care, anesthesia, pathology, geriatrics, pediatrics, gynecology/obstetrics and psychiatry. The third- year orientation began on May 6 in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine with a two-week transition that covered various topics such as scrub training for surgery, working with medical translators, case presentations and hospital site orientations. During week two of transition, students were introduced to core clinical concepts in pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, geriatrics, and psychiatry. Orientation sessions at the hospitals began on May 7 and ran through May 17. During orientation, students had the opportunity to meet with clerkship directors and administrators and acclimate themselves to the clinical setting and the academic rigor of the clerkship experience. The third year officially began on May 20 and is followed by two 24-week core clerkships, each of which includes an orientation that prepares students with information and skills needed in the specific rotation.
“As a community based medical school we depend on our affiliated hospitals and nearly 1,000 affiliated physicians in the community who serve as mentors and teachers to help implement our innovative curriculum,” said Sarah Wood, M.D., director of the year-three curriculum in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. “We are truly grateful and appreciative of the support we have received from our affiliated hospitals, the clerkship directors and our affiliated physicians.”
The medical students will work with the same patients and mentors throughout their clinical clerkships to provide continuity of care in clinical training in the clerkship year.
