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Navigating the Primary Care Clerkship – A Medical Student’s Guide

·1 hr 1 min·4 clips

USPSTF screening is treated as “the bible of family medicine” for prevention and shelf questions.

1. Sink or Swim Podcast presents Gerald’s guide to the NSUMD primary care clerkship for medical students. 2. Gerald identifies himself as a fourth-year medical student at NSUMD and says the rotation mattered to him as a family medicine applicant. 3. The episode asks what primary care rotation students need to know to do well in clinic, on the shelf quiz, and on evaluations. 4. Gerald says NSUMD calls the course the “primary care medicine clerkship,” even though many schools call it family medicine. 5. He explains that many preceptors are internal medicine physicians working in primary care settings rather than family medicine physicians. 6. He names the Aventura Primary Care Clinic at Aventura Hospital as the site he attended, and says it is the continuity outpatient clinic for internal medicine residents. 7. He also names Kendall outpatient clinic, JFK Hospital’s outpatient clinic, and Dr. Silverstein’s clinic in Palm Beach as other possible sites. 8. Gerald says the rotation is about four weeks long at NSUMD. 9. He describes an orientation with the course director on the first day or the Sunday night before the rotation starts. 10. He says current teaching includes Wednesday didactics, a last-Thursday shelf quiz, a case report, online modules, and final-week simulations. 11. Gerald says the shelf quiz uses questions handpicked by the course director and often comes from didactic topics like COPD, diabetes, obesity, back pain, and USPSTF guidelines. 12. He notes that the course quiz has fewer questions than other shelf exams and is taken on the last Thursday of the rotation. 13. He explains that most days follow an outpatient schedule with morning patient visits, a lunch break, and afternoon clinic work. 14. He says students may work with residents, see assigned patients, and rotate through histories, physical exams, and presentations. 15. Gerald emphasizes that primary care involves short visits, focused questioning, and limited time with each patient. 16. He stresses that students should review the EHR, know recent notes, and ask about the preferred note format before writing SOAP notes. 17. He says the clerkship values comprehensive histories, cardiovascular and respiratory exams, abdominal exams, MSK exams, and referral thinking for specialties like endocrinology, orthopedics, neurology, GI, cardiology, and pulmonary. 18. Gerald explains that the course also rewards professionalism, attention during didactics, early shelf studying, and comfort with common outpatient problems. 19. Students who want outpatient medicine, family medicine, or primary care screening guidance would likely benefit most from this episode. 20. Students wanting a high-level overview without clerkship logistics or USPSTF detail might skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded clerkship guide with practical advice for primary care prep.

Gerald offers a grounded look at the primary care rotation for medical students, drawing on his own path as a fourth-year at NSUMD and a family medicine applicant.

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Why you'd press play

Need a steadier way to get ready for primary care rotation?

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