How do students who complete their PhD make the transition to the clinical clerkship?
All students who are returning to finish their clerkships take a general 2-week orientation course, the same one as rising third-year medical students. This orientation covers the general aspects of the clerkship, such as finding your way around, filing, paperwork, and so on. We have also designed an 8-week mini course developed specifically for MSTP students nearing the end of their thesis work. This course, “Introduction to Bedside Diagnostics,” was developed by MSTP Co-Director Mark Philips in collaboration with Dr. Judith Brenner of the Department of Medicine in order to help place MSTP students on equal footing with medical students who do not have a gap in their exposure to patients. These highly focused and personal sessions are taught by chief medicine residents at Bellevue Hospital, an exceptionally broad source of patients from which our students can learn.
