Nashville Core Clerkship in Medicine (MED-30000)
Welcome to the 8-week Internal Medicine clerkship—a mandatory experience for all medical students. This rotation consists of six weeks in an inpatient setting and two weeks in ambulatory care. During this clerkship, students will work closely with attendings, residents, and fellow students, gaining exposure to a wide range of medical conditions in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
<aside> <img src="/icons/reference_orange.svg" alt="/icons/reference_orange.svg" width="40px" /> The internal medicine clerkship is one of the most important experiences of medical school. Regardless of what specialty training you ultimately pursue, you will unquestionably advance your knowledge and skills during this clerkship.
Ultimately, we will view this as a successful clerkship experience if it makes you a better caregiver, improves your skills, helps you become more professional, improves your confidence, and guides you in career choices. You will be one step further to what you ultimately become— a skilled, caring, knowledgeable physician in the area of your choice.
You will only have one opportunity to learn from this internal medicine clerkship. As much as we may try to make experiences consistent, no two medicine clerkships are ever the same—from school to school or from student to student. You, your patients, your team, your preceptors and attendings, and your hospital and clinics will ultimately determine the outcome of the experience. The clerkship will shape you, even if in small ways.
We encourage you to do everything that you can to make the very most of this experience. While you will likely face frustrations in dealing with uncertainty and emotional challenges when your patient’s health fails, we wish you the very best experience possible. If you do not find the clerkship exhilarating and fun most of the time, then something is not right. Let your clerkship director know so that changes can be made to get things back on track. We genuinely feel privileged to accompany and guide you on this important professional journey.
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