Specific Learning Objectives
The overall and specific learning objectives will be met by performance of assigned duties on inpatient and outpatient services, attendance at conferences, completion of assigned readings, and independent study.
Overall Objectives
At the completion of the required clerkship in pediatrics a student will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the ways children change from birth through adolescence and how these changes are reflected in physiology, pathology and growth and development (physical, psychosocial and behavioral). The overall objective will be met through participation in clerkship activities and with a program of self-directed learning which will result in the ability to perform each of the following at the completion of the pediatric clerkship.
Professional conduct and attitudes
- Demonstrate attitudes and behaviors that ensure a successful clinical
interaction. These include but are not limited to caring, compassion, empathy,
personal honesty, and sensitivity.
- Demonstrate tolerance of parental and family difference in attitudes,
behavior and lifestyles, but recognize when a child or adolescent is at risk
and know how and when to intervene.
- Understand and be sensitive to the influence of cultural, environmental
and socioeconomic factors on the clinical interaction.
- Demonstrate respect for patient and family confidentiality.
- Participate as part of the health care team and demonstrate respect for
the individual members of the team.
- Assume responsibility for self directed learning
Clinical skills and knowledge
- Communicate effectively with infants, children, adolescents and their families
- Obtain a Pediatric history using effective interview techniques
- Present illness or complaint
- Past medical history
- Prenatal and pregnancy
- Labor and delivery
- Postnatal events
- Feeding and diet
- Growth and development
- Psychomotor milestones
- Language
- Behavior
- School performance
- Illnesses
- Accidents
- Hospitalizations
- Immunizations
- Family and social history
- Pedigree
- Perform complete physical examinations of neonates, infants, children and
adolescents
- Describe normal and abnormal findings
- Plot growth measurements on appropriate "growth curves"
- Describe the relationship between the plotted points and expected average
growth
- Height
- Weight
- Head circumference
- Describe sexual maturity stages
- Perform developmental screening assessments of patients from birth through
adolescence
- Demonstrate knowledge about the physiologic transition that occurs at
birth
- Understand the concept of gestational age assessment
- Describe normal and abnormal findings appropriate to each age or developmental
stage
- Develop a differential diagnosis and problem list based on
- History
- Physical examination
- Developmental assessment
- Identify diagnostic tests and procedures to evaluate appropriately the problem(s)
presented by a patient
- Correlate results of diagnostic tests and procedures with the information
from the history, the physical examination and the developmental assessment
to develop a management plan for each patient
- Communicate effectively and succinctly with physicians and other medical
professionals the information obtained from history, physical examination
and developmental assessment
- In writing
- Verbally (case presentation)
- Management options
- Discuss with faculty, residents and fellow students information obtained
from the medical literature concerned with general pediatric problems such
as
- Health maintenance
- Prevention of illness, disease and disability
- Growth and development from birth through adolescence
- Nutrition
- Specific problems or illnesses of individual patients (See objectives for
specific topics)
- Demonstrate the ability to assess the ethical aspects of the clinical problems
presented by patients and their families