The overall goal of this medical student elective is to teach evidence-based, high quality care for patients who have diabetes mellitus, thyroid, metabolic bone, pituitary, and adrenal disease. Specific educational objectives are based on the six core clinical competencies of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and adapted to the level expected of a medical student, as follows:

Patient Care
Provide supervised patient care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and treatment of disease.  At all times, the student should act as the patient’s advocate.

• Gather accurate and essential information about patients from all sources, including medical interviews, physical exam, medical records and diagnostic/therapeutic procedures.
• Correctly perform the thyroid examination.
• Identify physical features and symptom suggestive of Endocrine diseases.
• Make informed decisions about preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic options and interventions, based on clinical judgment, scientific evidence, and patient preferences. That is:
• • Identify an appropriate insulin regimen for patients with Type I diabetes mellitus
  • Manage insulin resistant patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  • Apply outcomes data to the management of patients with dyslipidemia.
  • Apply thyroid function tests and thyroid imaging studies to the cost-effective workup of patients with known or suspected thyroid disease.
  • Apply BMD measurements and risk factors to the management of osteoporosis

Medical Knowledge
Demonstrate knowledge of and an interest in learning established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and social sciences.

• Apply new knowledge to patient care and education of others. 
• Use the following resources to show interest in learning unfamiliar ideas and concepts:
• • Geisinger Health Sciences Library
  • Didactic Lectures
  • Up to date
  • MD Consult

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
Use scientific methods and evidence to investigate, evaluate and improve patient care practices.

• Maintain a commitment to, and develop skills needed for, continuous self- improvement in knowledge, skills, attitudes and processes of care.
• Analyze and evaluate practice experiences and feedback from teachers, colleagues and support staff, and implement strategies to continually improve their quality of patient practice.
• Develop and maintain a willingness to learn from errors and use errors to improve the system or processes of care.
• Use information technology or other available methodologies to access, evaluate, and manage information to support patient care decisions and their own education.

Interpersonal Skills and Communication
Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that enable students to establish and maintain professional relationships with patients, families, and other members of health care teams.

• Provide effective and professional consultation to other physicians and health care professionals.
• Sustain therapeutic and ethically sound professional relationships with patients, their families and caregivers, and colleagues.
• Use effective listening, nonverbal, questioning, and narrative skills to communicate with patients, families and caregivers.
• Maintain comprehensive, timely, and legible medical records.

Professionalism
Demonstrate behaviors reflecting a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, an understanding and sensitivity to diversity, and a responsible fiduciary attitude towards their patients, their profession, and society.

• Demonstrate respect, compassion, integrity, and altruism in their relationships with patients, families and colleagues, acting as the patient’s advocate.
• Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to diversity among patients and colleagues, including diversity of gender, age, culture, religion, sexual preference, socioeconomic status, beliefs, behaviors, and disabilities.
• Adhere to principles of confidentiality, scientific and academic integrity, and informed consent.
• Identify and act appropriately on deficiencies in performance of self, peers and others to enact ongoing improvements, as well as acting in acute situations to ensure immediate quality of care.

Systems-Based Practice
Develop a basic understanding of the contexts and systems in which health care is provided, and demonstrate the ability to apply this knowledge to improve and optimize health care.

• Understand, access, and utilize the resources and providers necessary to provide optimal care.
• Understand the limitations and opportunities inherent in various practice types and delivery systems, and develop strategies to optimize care for the individual patient.
• Apply evidence-based, cost-conscious strategies to prevention, diagnosis, and disease management.
• Collaborate with other members of the health care team to assist and advocate for patients in dealing effectively with complex systems and to improve system processes of care.