Office of Education
Fourth Year Courses
Emergency Medicine
Sangeeta Lamba, M.D.
Clerkship Director
Email: lamba@umdnj.edu
The clerkship in Emergency Medicine is designed to provide the student with the clinical skills and ability to interpret data required for the appropriate diagnoses and management of patients requiring emergency and/or critical care. The medical activities appropriate to emergency care include: 1) the acquisition of a situation‑specific history; 2) performance of a situation‑appropriate physical examination; 3) determination of differential diagnosis; 4) resuscitation; 5) acquisition and analysis of biochemical, physiologic, laboratory and radiologic data specific to the life‑threatening situation; 6) stabilization; and 7) rapid disposition of the case for further assessment and care.
The medical activities appropriate to critical care include: 1) thorough history taking and physical examination; 2) monitoring and assessment of vital function through a variety of technical devices; 3) acquisition and analysis of laboratory and radiologic data; 4) prevention of mortality through early recognition and speedy implementation of therapy in the presence of increased risk; 5) determination of etiology of the disease state; and 6) institution of therapy.
In addition to these activities, emergency and critical care medicine involve attention to record keeping and the establishment of a relationship with the patient and family as they cope with the emotional trauma of emergencies, critical illness, dying and death.
The rotation is comprised of a 3‑day Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support Providers Course (AHA certification is awarded on completion), a lecture series given weekly, grand rounds and journal club, clinical rotation through the emergency department.
The clerkship curriculum is reviewed each year and is subject to modifications designed to improve its value to students.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Patrick Foye, M.D.
Clerkship Director
Email: foyepm@umdnj.edu
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation seeks to provide the student with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to appropriately assess pain or disability due to disorders of the neurologic and musculoskeletal systems, and to participate in a comprehensive team management approach to maintain and/or restore function. Emphasis is placed on evaluating the patient from multiple perspectives, including physical, emotional, psychosocial, vocational, recreational, and family functioning. The interdisciplinary team approach to patient care is emphasized and taught.
Some of the pathophysiologic problems commonly treated include: spinal cord injury, cerebral vascular accidents, muscular dystrophies, traumatic brain injury, amputations, polio, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Such diagnoses are generally considered to encompass the rehabilitation segment of the specialty. The physical medicine aspect of the field deals with the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders such as cervical or lumbosacral radiculopathies, rotator cuff tendinitis, non-operative treatment of sports-related injuries, low back pain and injured worker programs.
The primary intent of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation clerkship is to provide the student with the ability to take a functional history and to develop an approach to maximize function in individuals with disability and/or chronic disease. It will also help to prepare the student to make optimum use of physiatric services during his/her career.
Public Health/Preventive Medicine
Bart Holland, Ph.D., MPH
Clerkship Director
Email: holland@umdnj.edu
The Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health seeks to provide students an understanding of certain central concepts in public health and their application in clinical practice, including: the clinical practice of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention; alternatives to the current US healthcare system; the clinical impact of health care law sentinel events & the role of surveillance in preventive medicine and public health; and the systems approach to preventing and ameliorating medical errors. Emphasis is placed on bringing public health concepts into the specific area of clinical practice that the student hopes to specialize in.
Students are assigned to work in a wide variety of clinical environments that reflect their clinical interests. However, all students will have certain experiences in common. At the end of two weeks, students will have: participated in a specific project in preventive medicine or public health; begun to understand and enact their role as doctors in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention; begun to understand their role as doctors in the cascade of prevention and surveillance; developed and debated an informed perspective on the current US health care system and universal coverage single payer systems; reviewed the impact of current laws on medical practice, e.g. EMTALA, HIPAA and Medicaid/Medicare; and discussed and understood root-cause analysis as a tool for patient safety.
Students are required to complete an Acting Internship in one of the following disciplines:
Acting Internship in Medicine
Acting Internship in Surgery
Acting Internship in Family Medicine
Acting Internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Acting Internship in Pediatrics