Critical Care Core Clerkship

Catalog description

VISITING: Closed to visitors. TYPE OF CLERKSHIP: Required. DESCRIPTION: Provides experience managing adult patients in a critical care unit. Students learn how to optimize care for the acutely ill patient and participate in the multidisciplinary approach to complex patients. Teaching emphasizes the review of basic organ physiology, the ability to determine the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in critical illness, and the formulation of a physiologic based treatment plan. Students gain experience with the implementation of monitoring and therapeutic devices used in the intensive care units and begin to become adept at the evaluation, stabilization and management of the most critically ill patients expected to be encountered in today's acute care hospitals. Ward rounds, bedside evaluation and treatment, and individual interactions with attending, fellows and residents are part of the educational process. Assignments will be made either to the Stanford Medical-Surgical ICU Service, Stanford Surgical ICU Service, or the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital Medical-Surgical ICU Service. Student preferences for a particular adult ICU site will be given consideration but cannot be guaranteed. Absences during the 306A clerkship: Students must contact the 306A Clerkship Director to obtain explicit advance approval for any planned absence from the clerkship. Unanticipated absences for illness or emergency must be communicated to the Clerkship Director as promptly as possible. Students with more than 2 days of unexcused absences (i.e., 3-5 days) will be required to make up one week at a later date. If the absence is longer than this, the time would be proportionately increased. Taking extra night or weekend call may not be considered a suitable substitute for missing weekdays during the clerkship. Arrangements to make up missed time must be made by the student with…