The University of South Alabama College of Medicine recently held clerkship orientation for third-year medical students. Orientation week served as the introduction to the students’ clinical years and included briefings on topics ranging from hospital policies to mini board exams.
Beginning with this class, students who enter the USA College of Medicine receive instruction in all competencies from the beginning of their educational experience. Milestones of achievement toward competency will be assessed and documented throughout the four-year continuum leading to graduation.
“With the new curriculum, I had the opportunity to interact with patients in a primary care clinic as a first-year student,” said third-year USA medical student Anna Crutchfield of Columbus, Ga. “Hopefully my experiences in the clinical setting along with what I’ve learned in the classroom will help me adjust to this new in-patient environment.”
“Patients are the reason I continually work hard to become a competent doctor,” Crutchfield said. “I’m excited about my interactions with them, and I am looking forward to changing lives for the better.”
Despite the nerves associated with starting clinical patient care, the third-year medical students agree that this milestone is one they have anticipated for years.
Monica Kumar, another third-year USA medical student from Seattle, Wash., speaks in accord with many students when she says that the transition from studying in the classroom to working in the clinical setting is a huge step in the pursuit of their careers in the medical field. “It’s what we’ve all been looking forward to these past few years.”
“One of the aspects of working with patients that I’m most looking forward to is getting to know patients and hearing their stories,” she said. “It’s really humbling when a patient opens up to you about his or her life and trusts you to be a part of their care.”
Moving forward in her medical career, Kumar says that the USA College of Medicine has properly prepared her to work in a clinical setting by providing medical students with a firm foundation in the basic sciences, on which they can now begin to build the rest of their careers.
