Undergraduate Medical Education

Internal Medicine Clerkship

(Available to CMS Students only)
Department of Medicine Associate Chair, Director Undergraduate Medical Education: Stuart Kiken, MD
Internal Medicine Education Coordinator: Sue Gilbert, 847.578.3291

Clerkship Affiliated Hospitals:

Advocate Christ Medical Center
Cook County Hospital
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center
North Chicago Veteran Affairs Medical Center
Norwalk Hospital

The primary objective of this Clerkship is to teach students the broad field of Internal Medicine and to ensure the overall competency of students in Medicine. Internal Medicine and its disciplines form the essential framework for all special areas of practice. To assist the student, our Department is continually updating its method of instruction with the sole incentive of offering a very resourceful and successful training experience. The following is to inform you of some of the requirements of this Clerkship.

Students are advised that clinical evaluations received from attendings at affiliated hospitals are weighted as 60% of the final grade. You may be examined/quizzed orally at any time and without notice during your rotation on Medicine.

A written examination at the end of the Clerkship period will constitute 30% of the final grade. A passing grade on the final examination is required in order to pass the clerkship. As designated by the Chairman, students who fail the examination or the clinical rotation will be required to either successfully complete an NBME examination with the next group of Clerkship students, or during pre-selected retake dates. Please contact the Department of Medicine Coordinator to take the NBME make-up examination, or if necessary, repeat all of the Medicine Clerkship. Until the examination is retaken and passed the student may not take medicine electives and/or Medical Sub-Internship rotations only with the specific authorization of the Dean for Student Affairs. A maximum period of six (6) months is allowed for retaking the examination. If you wish to take the examination with the next group of Junior Clerkship students, you must contact the Department of Medicine Coordinator at least two (2) months prior to the examination. The final; grade for the Clerkship will stand as a "Defer" until the examination is retaken and passed, at which point the grade will become a ‘C’. If the exam is failed the second time, the student will be required to retake the entire 8 week clerkship. The grade will be posted as an "F" until the course exam is retaken.

In the final grade, 10% is allocated to the final grade of the MedCore/AmbuMed course.

The objective of the Medicine Clerkship is to obtain a sound base in Internal Medicine, to be able to perform and interpret a complete history and physical examination, to formulate problem lists and to plan therapy. Procedures are "icing on the cake" and not the substantive experience at this level of your development.

We assure you that the Department of Medicine is anxious to assist you in every way possible. In the months and years to come, we anticipate increasing reliance on the commitment and performance of the student at the bedside. In this regard, we view your hospital bedside experience as the "key" to the quality of your medical education.