The need for internists nationwide is growing. The Department of Medicine Summer Externship Program provides medical students with an exceptional opportunity to work closely with internists (or "doctors for adults") across a variety of clinical settings. Students will have the opportunity to learn more about the role of Internal Medicine and its subspecialties in healthcare delivery.
Students will also have the opportunity to apply what they have learned regarding history-taking, physical examination, and documentation skills in addition to expanding their clinical reasoning skills in the clinical setting. Students will continue to expand their knowledge base by learning through a physician's day-to-day interactions with patients, colleagues, and learners of many levels. They will have an opportunity to work with a variety of faculty, residents/fellows, and upper level medical students during this externship. This experience enables students to make informed decisions about a career in internal medicine and its subspecialties.
Based on individual preferences, each student will spend four weeks working with a general internist and/or subspecialist in Internal Medicine in a clinical or hospital-based setting. There are preceptors available in a variety of general and subspecialty settings associated with the Department of Medicine. In addition to gaining the practical experience of observing an internist in action, each student will receive $1,600 to support the externship, provided by the Department of Medicine.
What Participants Say
The goals of the Department of Medicine Summer Externship Program are to give students an opportunity to work closely with an internist in his or her own practice setting and to give the internist an opportunity to impart his or her knowledge to today’s medical students, highlighting the importance of medicine in the spectrum of medical care.
Here is what some former participants have to say about the program:
- “This was the first time I've had any inpatient experience so I really enjoyed learning how that process worked, learning more about life as a resident and fellow, and seeing how the different healthcare teams worked together. It was also nice to see numerous physical exam techniques that we have learned put into practice."
- “Aside from the substantial amount of fundamental knowledge taught by the attending physicians and residents through lectures and in practice, there was something more that I observed, which I felt was truly precious and unique to the Summer Externship Program experience: the insight into the diverse background of patients.”
- “I was allowed to follow my own patients and use PowerChart, which will be a great help when I get to my M3 year. I was given responsibilities and treated like a colleague rather than a shadow. I also greatly improved my diagnostic abilities, exam skills and interview skills.”
