Third Year Courses

Internal Medicine

The Internal Medicine clerkship is a comprehensive eight-week core M3 clerkship focused on the evaluation and management of adult patients across a broad spectrum of acute and chronic medical conditions. Designed to build a strong foundation in general internal medicine, the clerkship emphasizes the development of core competencies in clinical reasoning, diagnostic evaluation, and evidence-based management of common and complex medical conditions, regardless of future specialty choice.
A defining feature of the clerkship is its broad and diverse clinical exposure. During the clerkship, students spend a total of six weeks on inpatient medicine service, split between a tertiary medical center and an affiliate site, allowing exposure to diverse patient populations, healthcare systems, and practice environments. Additionally, students complete two weeks on a subspecialty internal medicine service, gaining insight into advanced, consultative, and disease-focused care. Throughout the clerkship, students are exposed to preventive care, chronic disease management, and acute inpatient medicine.
The clerkship emphasizes active, hands-on participation in patient care, with students functioning as integral members of the healthcare team. Through bedside teaching, interdisciplinary collaboration, and progressive clinical responsibility, students will develop essential skills in history-taking, physical examination, clinical documentation, patient communication, and evidence-based decision-making, as well as a deeper understanding of the central role of internal medicine in patient care across the continuum of health and disease.

Surgery

The Surgery clerkship is an eight-week clinical introduction to the principles and practice of surgical care. Students become active members of the surgical team, participating in the evaluation, management, and perioperative treatment of patients with a wide range of surgical conditions. It is designed to give students a foundation in the vast diseases and medical problems which require surgical consultation or intervention
The clerkship integrates structured teaching with hands-on learning. Students attend weekly didactic sessions and case‑based discussions. They also participate in skills labs and simulations that cover suturing, knot‑tying, and sterile technique. Additional learning opportunities include morbidity and mortality conferences, multidisciplinary tumor boards, and bedside teaching with faculty and residents. Emphasis is placed on developing clinical reasoning, recognizing surgical emergencies, and understanding indications for operative versus non‑operative management.
The clerkship provides a rigorous, immersive clinical experience in which students engage directly in the care of surgical patients. Through sustained involvement in inpatient, outpatient, and operative settings, students develop foundational clinical skills and gain a comprehensive understanding of the surgeon’s role in diagnosing, managing, and treating surgical disease.

Obstetrics and Gynecology

The Obstetrics and Gynecology clerkship is an introductory six-week clinical experience focused on the delivery of comprehensive healthcare to adolescent and adult female patients. It is designed to promote a holistic approach to women’s health by providing students with foundational competencies in issues that primarily impact women, including reproductive health, regardless of future specialty choice.
A unique and defining feature of obstetrics and gynecology is its breadth, encompassing preventive care, primary care, critical care, surgical intervention, adolescent and geriatric medicine, and, at times, end-of-life care. Throughout the clerkship, students will gain exposure to the full spectrum of obstetric and gynecologic practice and a wide range of women’s health-related clinical issues. Students will also be introduced to key subspecialties, including maternal-fetal medicine, gynecologic oncology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
The clerkship emphasizes an intensive, hands-on clinical experience that allows students to actively participate in patient care while developing essential clinical skills and a deeper understanding of the role of the obstetrician-gynecologist.

Pediatrics

The Pediatrics clerkship is an introductory six-week clinical experience focused on the delivery of comprehensive healthcare to infants, children, and adolescents across a variety of clinical settings. The course is designed to promote a holistic, family-centered approach to pediatric care by providing students with foundational competencies in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of childhood illness and health maintenance.
Pediatrics encompasses preventive care, primary care, acute and chronic illness, developmental and behavioral health, as well as newborn and adolescent medicine. Throughout the clerkship, students gain exposure to the full spectrum of pediatric practice and a diverse array of age-specific clinical issues. Students are also introduced to multiple pediatric specialties, including neonatology, pediatric emergency medicine, and pediatric subspecialty care.
The clerkship provides a hands-on clinical experience that allows students to actively participate in patient care while developing essential clinical skills, effective communication with children and families, and a deeper understanding of the role of the pediatrician within the healthcare team.

Emergency Medicine

The Emergency Medicine clerkship is a four-week core M3 clerkship designed to provide medical students with immersive experience in the evaluation and management of acute, undifferentiated illness and injury. The primary purpose of the clerkship is to develop foundational clinical reasoning skills that emphasize rapid assessment, prioritization, and safe decision-making in a high-acuity, time-sensitive environment. Students are exposed to a broad spectrum of pathology, allowing students to integrate medical knowledge with real-time clinical care. Through direct participation in patient care within the emergency department, students learn to formulate differential diagnoses, initiate diagnostic and therapeutic plans, and adapt to the dynamic flow inherent to emergency medicine. 
A core expectation of the clerkship is that students take active ownership of their patients under appropriate supervision. This includes performing focused histories and physical examinations, following patients through their emergency department course, communicating with consulting services, and reassessing patients as clinical conditions evolve. Students are also expected to seek out and perform procedures when appropriate, such as wound care, vascular access, splinting, and other essential emergency skills, as well as to engage in point-of-care ultrasound.
The clerkship emphasizes professionalism, teamwork, and effective communication within interprofessional teams. Ongoing formative feedback supports growth in clinical competence, procedural skills, and professional identity development applicable to all future physicians.

Family Medicine and Primary Care

The Family Medicine and Primary Care clerkship is a four-week core M3 clerkship designed to introduce medical students to the principles and practice of high-quality primary care. The clerkship emphasizes the core values of family medicine and primary care, including prevention, continuity of care, and the development of meaningful, patient-centered relationships over time. Students learn how primary care serves as the cornerstone of the health system by providing comprehensive, accessible care focused on chronic disease management, patient education, and addressing social drivers of health to reduce health inequities.
Through direct participation in outpatient clinical care, students engage in the evaluation and longitudinal management of patients across the lifespan. While clinical sites may vary, the clerkship reflects a family medicine perspective of caring for individuals and families at different life stages and within diverse social and cultural contexts. Students perform histories and physical examinations, present patients, and develop assessment and management plans under appropriate supervision, with an emphasis on preventive care, health maintenance, and the management of common acute and chronic conditions.
Students are encouraged to take increasing ownership of patient care within the primary care team. This includes patient education, shared decision-making, motivational interviewing, medication management, preventive screening, and coordination of care across specialties and community resources. Ongoing formative feedback supports students’ growth in clinical competence and patient-centered communication, while cultivating an appreciation for the critical role of family medicine and primary care in promoting individual and population health.

Neurology

The Neurology Clerkship is a four-week core M3 clerkship designed to provide medical students with a foundational knowledge in neurology, from a comprehensive neurologic physical exam to developing a broad differential, prioritizing the most likely diagnosis, and development of a treatment plan for common neurologic conditions.  The clerkship includes both inpatient and outpatient clinical experiences, allowing students to evaluate patients in a variety of settings, including urgent and emergent diagnoses as well as chronic, long-term care.
The multimodal weekly curriculum includes a flipped-classroom curriculum design aligned with American Academy of Neurology guidelines and established learning science principles. Purpose-built preparatory materials, interactive case-based sessions, and realistic simulations emphasize practical diagnosis and management. The result is a supportive yet appropriately challenging learning environment that consistently demystifies neurology, builds durable clinical skills, and fosters lasting confidence in the care of patients with neurological disease.
Students are encouraged to utilize our acclaimed Neurophile YouTube learning platform, including guided engagement with the neurologic literature, tailored to individual learner needs. Ongoing feedback helps the students hone their neurologic examination skills, prioritizing problem lists, and create comprehensive assessment and plans.

Psychiatry

The Psychiatry clerkship is a required four-week clinical experience designed to provide medical students with foundational knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the evaluation and management of patients with psychiatric conditions across the lifespan. The clerkship emphasizes the application of a biopsychosocial model of care and prepares students to recognize and address mental health conditions that commonly present in a variety of clinical settings, regardless of future specialty choice.
Psychiatry is a core discipline that intersects with all areas of medicine and encompasses preventive care, acute and chronic illness management, crisis intervention, and interdisciplinary care. During the clerkship, students are exposed to a broad range of psychiatric conditions and patient populations in multiple care settings, including inpatient, emergency, and consultation-liaison services.
The clerkship provides a structured, supervised clinical experience in which students actively participate in patient interviews, diagnostic assessment, and treatment planning. Through direct patient care and faculty-guided learning activities, students develop core competencies in clinical reasoning, communication, professionalism, and interprofessional collaboration, and gain an understanding of the role of psychiatry in comprehensive patient care.