Core Clerkship

Core Clerkship begins with a one week required Introduction to Clerkship course (INDS 305): This one-week course is designed to prepare students beginning their clerkship. Principles learned during Basis of Medicine and Introduction to Clinical Medicine are applied to practical clinical scenarios in sessions referred to as Introduction to Hospital Practice. The role of the clerk on the medical team and the principles of writing medical orders, ordering and interpreting laboratory tests, and appropriate conduct with patients and other health professionals are addressed. The course also includes a Physicianship session, dealing with sleep deprivation, a review of infection control and prevention, and confidentiality and protection of patient records.

Core Clerkship is primarily composed of clinical rotations: 5 eight-week required rotations (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Pediatrics), 1 four-week required rotation (Surgery), 1 four-week elective and 1 four-week vacation (usually July). During clinical clerkship rotations, students are an integral part of the health care team, with direct responsibilities for patient care.

For students participating in the Integrated Clerkship, the 3rd year clerkship consists of 3 required sixteen-week blocks (Santé mentale – Gériatrie, Médecine – Chirugie, Parents – Enfants) and longitudinal (48 week) exposures in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine.

Senior Clerkship

Senior Clerkship consists of 3 four-week required clinical rotations (Surgery Subspecialties, Geriatrics, Emergency Medicine), a mandatory four-week Physicianship 4 course, and 4 four-week electives.

Students who were part of the 3rd year Integrated Clerkship will need to complete 7 four-week electives and the Physicianship 4 course. The required rotations in Surgery Subspecialties, Geriatrics, and Emergency Medicine will have been completed during year 3 of the Integrated Clerkship.

Some students will have the opportunity to participate in Topics in Medical Science (March-April Period), thereby replacing a clinical elective with a seminar in basic science. Seminars will be held during 2 two-week blocks (March-April Period), other than Anatomy for Surgeons which runs for the entire four weeks (March-April Period). Although the content of the options vary, all of them share a primary goal of reintroducing fundamental principles in the basic sciences. Through these seminars, students gain a new appreciation of the basic sciences as the pillars of medical knowledge and future scientific developments.

Physicianship 4 (INDS 420) begins in February. This component of the curriculum provides opportunities for self-reflection and for reinforcement of principles that are the foundation for the practice of medicine. It is preceded by a vacation / interview period. (usually during January month). The Physicianship 4 course consists of four components: 1) Medicine and Society Core, 2) Medicine and Society Electives (both offer topics focusing on the non-biological aspects of medicine), 3) Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and 4) Communication Plus. During this same period, sessions in Physician Apprenticeship 4 (INDS 422) also take place.  Student attendance at all Physicianship 4 and Physician Apprenticeship 4 sessions is mandatory.

Overview of Senior Clerkship Components:

1. Clinical Rotations / Electives
2. Vacation / Interview Period (During January - February)
3. Physicianship 4 (February - March Period)
   1. Medicine and Society Core – Mondays / Wednesdays Morning .
   2. Medicine and Society Electives – Tuesdays / Thursdays Morning
   3. Public Health and Preventive Medicine – Mondays / Wednesdays afternoons
   4. Communication Plus – Two Thursdays, afternoons. Each student will also be scheduled for a session at the Arnold & Blema Steinberg Medical Simulation Centre for a morning or afternoon session.
   5. Professionalism – The class is divided in half, and students are scheduled for two Tuesdays or the two Thursdays
4. Topics in Medical Science (seminars) or Clinical Electives (March -April Period)
5. LMCC Review sessions (April)
6. LMCC (Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam) Exam dates given by MCC