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Curriculum

Third-Year Course

Click here to download the 2011-2012 syllabus.

Family Medicine 300 (Principles and Practice of Family Medicine), 152 hours.

This clerkship provides you a clinical experience in Family Practice. Family Physicians provide care to patients regardless of their age or complaint. Patients will come in with acute problems (i.e. sore throat, cough, abdominal pain, etc.) and for continued management of their chronic problems (i.e. diabetes, asthma, hypertension, arthritis, COPD, etc). You will see patients who have problems with easily treated biomedical etiologies, some will have problems with psychosocial dimensions and others will present with the first symptoms of a serious illness. In addition, you will see patients requesting preventive services (i.e. PAP smear, well child visit, sports physical, etc).

Family physicians value the long-term relationship with their patients. You will participate in the ongoing doctor-patient relationship and have an opportunity to experience this feeling. Your key to learning the most from this clerkship is by evaluating patients and investigating their condition.

If you have any problems or concerns about the clerkship, contact us immediately. We are here to assist your education at LSU. Enjoy your Family Medicine clerkship.

RECOMMENDED REFERENCES

Books

Sloane PD, Slatt LM, Curtis P, Ebell MH, Jacques LB. Essentials of Family Medicine, 4th ed. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 2002.

This book is available in the bookstore and is recommended as a basic text for this clerkship. It is the most frequently used text in Family Medicine clerkships across the country. It contains chapters on the diagnosis and treatment/management of the most common problems seen in the ambulatory setting. It has a substantial section on preventive care for various age groups. It also has chapters on family issues, the patient in the community, evidence-based medicine, complementary therapies, and the family physician in the changing health care system. An additional feature of the 4th edition is a practice test on CD. Although not prepared by the NBME, it can provide you with a series of questions that covers the broad clinical content that is Family Medicine.

Rakel RE, ed. Saunders Manual of Medical Practice, 2nd ed. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 2000.

This reference book provides an outline of basic medical information on the diagnosis and treatment of the problems most frequently seen in the primary care office. It also includes guidelines for 64 office-based procedures and an appendix that includes “reference values” for the interpretation of laboratory data.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2nd ed. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1996. The 3rd edition is available online through MDConsult [https://intranet/lsuhsc.edu/mdconsult/ or http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/cps3dix.html]

This is the definitive reference for the systematic implementation of preventive services in the primary care office. Tables for various age groups include recommended screening tests, counseling interventions, immunizations, and chemoprophylactic regimens. Basic recommendations are supplemented for patients considered at high risk. The recommendations are based on a “review of the scientific evidence” as to the effectiveness of the service.

Taylor RB, ed. Family Medicine: principles and practices. General overview of problems encountered in family practice.

Weiss BD, ed. 20 Common Problems in Primary Care. McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Each chapter has a comprehensive overview of the content, with epidemiologic information and discussions on the underlying mechanisms of the disease.

Journals

American Family Physician

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine

Journal of Family Practice

Some of these journals may also be available in your preceptor’s office library.

Web Sites

Disclaimer:

Remember, web sites, unlike print media, are dynamic, sometimes changing in structure from day to day. Therefore some of the suggestions below may not be the most efficient as the academic year progresses. They should be used as hints to begin your personal search of the site.

Medical School Library https://www.lsuhsc.edu/no/library

The above address can be used at distant sites to access the medical school library. You will be asked for your user name and password. Choose OVID, or any other library service, for access to that area. The full range of electronic library services should be available to you at teaching sites away from the main campus, including MDConsult, the Cochrane Library, and the National Library of Medicine. A note from the reference librarians: The OVID site is more efficient and effective for Medline searches than is the one through MDConsult. (

Family Medicine http://www.theabfm.org

This is the official site of the American Board of Family Medicine. The section on the “In-Training” practice exam is of most use to students. Although FM residents are the primary target for this practice exam, students might want to use it to get some insight into the content of the NBME. However, it is not a product of the National Board of Medical Examiners; therefore, it is not, strictly speaking, a preparation for the subject exam in Family Medicine.