Clinic Department

Family Medicine

Family Medicine Courses

Pre-clinical Courses:

Clinical Courses:

FCM 719-720 Community Medicine

• Required for first year students
• Course Coordinator: Betsy Rodríguez, MD
• Meets once weekly during first and second semester

An interdisciplinary community medicine course (effective in 2001-2002) has been incorporated to the first year medical curriculum.  This course involves the three-primary care disciplines: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.  It has a didactic component in basic topics in community medicine and an experiential component.  In the experiential component, the student is exposed to primary care physicians in their practice sites in the community.  Each student visits a community preceptor at least three times per semester and conducts one-time visit to a family practitioner, internist or pediatrician throughout the year.  Students also participate in community service activities.  The course requires the students to develop a community project in conjunction with a service organization in the community.  Selected practice sites are localized throughout the southern part of Puerto Rico, from Guayama to Mayaguez.

FCM 721 Family and Community Medicine - Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Interpretation of the Medical Literature

• Required for second year students
• Course Coordinator: Ivan Iriarte, MD
• Meets once weekly during first semester

In this course the basic precepts of Epidemiology as applied to community diagnosis and interpretation of the medical literature are introduced.

General Course Objectives:

• After attending and participating in activities of this course and reading the required material, the student should be able to:
• Define and interpret measures that describe mortality and morbidity rates in a population
• Apply the principles of validity, sensitivity, specificity, predictive value and reliability to diagnostic and screening tests.
• Access research publications in the health literature and identify the type of study, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the study methods.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the commonly used methods of association in epidemiological research (relative risk, attributable risk, odd ratio…)
• Explain how the concepts of bias and confounding are applied in the analysis and interpretation of study data.
• Assess and apply the results of scientific studies by demonstrating an understanding of and correctly interpreting the most commonly used statistical methods.

FCM 722 Family and Community Medicine - Preventive Medicine

• Required for second year students
• Course Coordinator: Ivan Iriarte, MD
• Meets once weekly during second semester

The basic concepts of Biostatistics are presented and are used, together with Epidemiology as the basis for interpreting the Medical Literature and the Practice of Evidence Based Medicine and Prevention.

The Family and Community Medicine course is an integral part of the four-year longitudinal experience in Preventive Medicine. Its GOALS are:

• Become knowledgeable on the mayor preventive health interventions that relate to the individual
• Assess risk factors and apply primary, secondary or tertiary preventive health care measures.
• Understand the community aspects of disease (socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, environmental, and occupational).
• Apply a community oriented primary care approach to community health problems

The class meets on Tuesdays in the afternoon for activities in this course.

FCM 822 Third Year Family Medicine Clerkship

Duration: Four weeks block rotation throughout the year

No. of Students: Five to seven students per rotation           

Availability: Required for third year students     

Place: PSM and Community practice sites          

Course coordinator: Georgina Aguirre, MD

Course Description:
The Family and Community Medicine Clerkship is designed to introduce students to the role and identity of the family physician and demonstrate the family practice approach to the comprehensive care of common health problems in the ambulatory setting.

Upon completing the clerkship the students should:

• Acquire the skills to diagnose and manage common problems seen by the family physician in the ambulatory setting.
• Identify and understand how health issues impact families and how family dynamics impact health.
• Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the role of the family physician in meeting the medical health care needs of his community.
• Appreciate the practice of community based health care

The clerkship accomplishes these objectives primarily through supervised clinical experiences. In addition, the tasks include directed readings, computer assisted instruction, case discussions in small groups, evaluation of standardized-patients, and completion of written projects.

Evaluation is through written examination (30%), clinical evaluation by preceptors (40%), a Clerkship Director evaluation (15%), and a Clinical Skills Assessment with Standardized-Patients (15%).

FCM 974 Primary Care Selective in Family Practice

Duration: Four weeks block rotation throughout the Year

No. of Students: One student per rotation      

Availability: Required selective for fourth year students

Place: Instituto de Medicina de Familia del Sur (Dr. Ramos MartÍn)          

Course Coordinator: Jaime Rodriguez-Arias, MD

Course Description:
The Primary Care Selective in Family Practice is a four-week required rotation in the fourth year where the student chooses the working site from a varied selection of primary care physicians in the community.

The purpose of this course is to provide students an opportunity to enhance their clinical skills in primary care and to practice the delivery of health care in the office and/or hospital. This clinical rotation allows additional opportunity for the student to work in the ambulatory and/or inpatient service under the direct supervision of a Primary Care Physician.

Faculty for the Primary Care Selective is drawn from the fields of General Internal Medicine, General Pediatrics, and Family Practice. Students can select from diverse clinical practice sites in urban, suburban, and rural settings. At each site, students will see patients under the supervision of one or more clinical preceptors. Each student, however, will be assigned a principal preceptor who is responsible for overseeing the student's learning experience, and coordinating the evaluation.

The student is expected to participate with a preceptor in all daily practice related activities in the ambulatory, hospital, or other community settings.

Clinical activities during the rotation may also involve assessing patients in a variety of other health care settings including private homes, schools, nursing homes, shelters, emergency rooms.

FCM 976-1 Family Practice Preceptorship

Duration: Four weeks block rotation throughout the year

No. of Students: One-two students per rotation

Availability: August through May by arrangement with preceptor

Place: Community preceptors Practice Sites                              

Course Coordinator: Jaime Rodriguez-Arias, MD

Course Description:
In this course, the student works one-on-one with a private family practice physician. The purpose of the experience is to provide students with a real world    look at an outpatient, primary care practice, and an opportunity to further develop their clinical skills in that setting. Students work full time with the preceptor for the four weeks to gain the best exposure possible to the continuity of care experience.

OPTION ONE: Locate a preceptor through the PSM Preceptorship Program.   Preceptors are located throughout Puerto Rico; there are opportunities to work in urban, suburban or rural practices.

OPTION TWO: This elective is available for preceptorship completed outside the PSM Preceptorship Program. Any site outside preceptorship of the PSM Preceptorship Program must be pre-approved by the department at least four weeks prior to the rotation period and must meet certain criteria.

Behavioral Medicine in Family Practice

Duration: Four weeks block rotation from August through March by arrangement.

No. of Students: One Student

Availability: Academic Year by Arrangement

Place: Dr. Pila Family Practice Residency Program

Course Coordinator: Marta Febo, MD

Course Description:
The student will be responsible to assist to family interview clinical sessions in Family Practice with residents in Family Practice under the supervision of a Family Physician specialist in Behavioral Medicine; to read and summarize learning material related to Family System Medicine; to develop a workshop/seminar for presentation at the end of the rotation in a topic of his/her interest.

Duration: Four Weeks

No. of Students: One Student

Availability: Academic Year by Arrangement

Place: Castañer General Hospital, Castañer, PR

Course Coordinator: Dr. José Rodríguez

Course Description:
Castañer General Hospital is a 33-bed full service rural general Hospital between Lares and Adjuntas.  The student will participate in ambulatory and inpatient care including Ob-Gyn.  In this elective you will undoubtedly test your general medicine knowledge and clinical management skills.  Housing and meals are provided for a $50 charge.  This elective should be requested in advance since this setting is also used by other medical schools in Puerto Rico and on the mainland.

Community Medicine in International Health Perspective

Duration: Elective for fourth year students

No. of Students: By arrangement

Availability: By arrangement

Place: By arrangement

Course Coordinator: Dr. Jaime Rodríguez-Arias, MD

Course Description:
Objectives for the elective are designed individually to meet the special needs and interests of the medical student and the setting of the practice.  Specific objectives of the International Health Perspective experience can be in the following areas: (1) Academic, (2) Service, and (3) Cultural.

Academic Objective
The academic objective of the elective is to enable students to arrive at an understanding of the health care delivery system of the host country as it differs from that with which the applicant is familiar.

Service Objective
By rendering clinical and community health services, participants contribute to the well being of the people where they are serving, alleviate individual suffering, and provide valuable assistance to foreign medical hosts.

Cultural Objective
Participants are provided with an excellent opportunity to have a meaningful cross-cultural experience. They are expected to approach different cultures with unbiased perspectives, patience, and understanding.