Senior Student Clerkship

Hematology/Oncology

The Division of Hematology/Oncology offers two senior student clerkships:

Hematology/Medical Oncology
Palliative Medicine/Hospice

1425-65 Hematology/Medical Oncology Clinical Clerkship

This is a 4 week rotation, and students will be part of a multi-disciplinary team, responsible for the management of complex patients with a variety of malignancies, including acute leukemia, lymphoma, lung cancer, breast cancer and other neoplastic disorders. Clerkship students will be exposed to various treatment approaches, including stem cell transplantation.

Students will do inpatient rounding each morning on the 15th floor of Feinberg Pavilion; and may choose between malignant hematology, benign hematology or medical oncology services for their first two weeks. Similarly, in their final two weeks, students will choose one of the two other inpatient services.

Four afternoons each week will be spent in the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation outpatient clinic, sharing responsibility with the medical residents for the initial evaluation and follow-up of patients with hematologic or oncologic problems, through diagnostic and therapeutic programs.

Rotations have been scheduled to allow students to attend several of our weekly multi-disciplinary conferences.

GOAL:

To provide a broad based experience in benign and malignant hematology, as well as medical oncology through inpatient and outpatient rounding with fellows and attending faculty.

OBJECTIVES

To enable the student to:

Gain a better understanding of the physician's role in the diagnostic evaluation and multi-disciplinary treatment of patients with solid tumors or hematological malignancies.
Enhance his/her knowledge of the management of anemias, coagulation disorders and other non-malignant hematological conditions, as well as plasmapheresis and other topics related to transfusion medicine.
Gain expertise in interpretation of peripheral blood smears, bone marrow aspirates and malignant pathology specimens.
Develop a heightened awareness of ethical issues as it relates to patient care.

4 weeks. 1 credit. Up to three (3) students during any one period.

1425-77 Palliative Medicine/Hospice Clinical Clerkship

The core of the student's experience consists of participating in inpatient assessments, following the treatment plans for patients in the Palliative Care Unit, and home visits with a Hospice physician, nurse, or social worker. These activities will allow the student to explore much of the nature of palliative medicine, as well as serving as a support to patients and their loved ones. There are didactic, interactive sessions at least three times/week. A-core-competency group of articles covering not only basic principles and controversies of palliative medicine/hospice, but also the management of common symptoms (pain, nausea, fatigue, delirium, dyspnea, etc.) will be discussed. Relevant legal, ethical, spiritual, cultural, and psychological issues are emphasized during the elective. The theme of multi-disciplinary management will be stresses.

GOAL

To provide a thought-provoking and emotionally rewarding clinical experience, as well as stress the importance of palliative medicine, including good symptom management, excellent communication skills, comfort with limitations and potentials of modern medicine, and adherence to ethical precepts for physicians in any type of practice.

OBJECTIVE