• First Year Preceptorship
• Second Year Pediatrics Preceptorship
• Third Year Longitudinal Clinical Experience
• Family and Community Medicine Clerkship
• Foundations of Patient Care Groups (on campus)
• Physical Examination Instruction
• Special Session: Care of the Seriously Ill

First year students spend ten half-days in the office of a family physician or internist. Students observe the preceptor, learn about the context of patient care (health care financing, cultural context of patient care, etc.), and practice the interviewing and physical exam skills they are learning in on-campus small groups. Students also do a home visit (the preceptor does not accompany the students on the visit, but identifies an appropriate patient for this purpose). Students continue with their first year preceptor for three additional half-day sessions in the fall of second year.

Second Year Pediatrics Preceptorship

Second year students spend four half-days in the office of a pediatrician (generalist or specialist). The goal of this preceptorship is to introduce students to the concepts and skills needed to care for children and families. Students practice interviewing/physical exam skills, and become familiar with developmental assessment, health screening, anticipatory guidance, etc.

LCE: Longitudinal Clinical Experience (Third Year)

The goals of the LCE are:

• To develop a long term relationship with the preceptor that will facilitate mentoring and modeling.
  
• To have the opportunity to work in the outpatient setting and experience a longitudinal relationship with a specific type of patient population and with individual patients when possible. Students will see the benefits of long term relationships between physicians, care teams, and patients.

Third Year Family and Community Medicine Clerkship (FCM 110)

FCM 110 is a six-week required ambulatory care clerkship for UC students. Students are taught the basic skills of diagnosis and treatment of the common problems of family practice. Students schedules include five or six clinical sessions (half days) per week. Two half days per week are devoted to didactic and interactive seminars, which include the management of common primary care problems in children and adults and preventive medicine. Another interactive seminar series addresses issues of behavioral and social science in primary care. Special curricular experiences during the clerkship provide students with exposure to home care and medical practice issues. Students at most sites are also assigned work in community settings and complete a community-oriented primary care project during one or two half-day sessions per week.

First and Second Year Foundations of Patient Care Groups (On-Campus)

Foundations Groups are usually facilitated by two faculty members who represent many different departments within the School of Medicine, as well as community-based clinical practices. Physicians, behavioral scientists, nurses, and social workers are among the many types of professionals involved. Students practice interviewing and presentation skills, share clinical experiences, and reflect on experiences and concerns as emerging physicians. Among the discussion topics are cultural contexts of patient care, ethics, sexuality and medical practice, and end of life care. Problem-based learning is also included, using cases to help students develop clinical reasoning skills.

Physical Examination Instruction and Assessment

There are multiple opportunities for faculty to participate in the teaching and assessment of physical examination skills. Sessions are held either on the Parnassus campus, or at the Clinical Skills Center (1515 Scott Street, San Francisco). Faculty may work with a group of students over several sessions (first year), or participate in one-time teaching opportunities in the second and third years, as described below.

• First year students learn to do a basic physical exam by practicing on peers under the supervision of a faculty member. Faculty work with a group of approximately eight students over several sessions and assess their students' skills development in an observed physical exam.
  
• Second year students examine real and standardized patients in the OSCE: Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Assessment of students' communication skills is also included. Faculty evaluators may participate for just one morning or afternoon, or several.
  
• Third and fourth year students' skill development is assessed via the CPX: Clinical Performance Exam. Physical exam, history-taking and communication skills are assessed. As with the OSCE above, faculty evaluators may participate for one morning or afternoon session, or several
  

Special Session: Care of the Seriously Ill (Second Year)

In this one-time session, students are placed with professionals who provide care for seriously or terminally ill patients and their families. Host professionals include hospice providers as well as physicians who specialize in oncology, HIV care, etc. Providers may participate for just one session or several.