The one-month cardiology rotation provides the medical student with a broad clinical experience that occurs both at the bedside in the cardiac care unit and on the general medical floors. Medical students will be placed on patient care teams and interact with attending cardiologists, cardiology fellows and residents to observe and learn core skills involved in evaluating a patient presenting with cardiac disease.

This team interaction provides the basis for medical student learning to include the importance of pertinent history and physical examination findings, ordering laboratory studies and diagnostic testing, and interpreting and applying the results of cardiac diagnostic testing. Also, core clinical lectures in areas such as managing patients with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, valvular heart disease,and arrhythmias are given. Emphasis is made on learning to read EKGs under the guidance of staff cardiologists and fellows. Also, the educational experience is further augmented by daily cardiology lectures in which you will participate.

Medical students whose applications are accepted for the cardiology rotation will receive directions for reporting and orientation on the first day of the rotation from the medical student clinical campus coordinator. While the individual student’s schedule for actual training days and hours may vary, and will be set by the clerkship coordinator, a typical work day starts at 7:30 a.m. and runs through 5 p.m. There may be instances when the work day exceeds these time limits depending on clinical demands. Students are not assigned on nights or weekends. The basic days and hours in the rotation calendar are as follows:

• Monday: Basic core conference scheduled with medical education office and provided via videoconference with PCOM. Assigned reading and self-study for the remainder of the work day.

• Tuesday - Friday: 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., cardiology lecture; 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., review and read EKG’s with attending and residents; other clinical assignments and assigned reading and self-study for the remainder of the work day.
   

Goals & objectives

The third-year medical student will have exposure to the essentials of cardiology in both ambulatory training sites and the cardiology inpatient consult service. Medical student learning on the rotation is primarily accomplished through direct interaction and observation of the cardiology fellow in the clinical setting, supplemented by didactic sessions and assigned readings. 

• Observe and learn the scope of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to assess and provide care to cardiology patients by rounding with the inpatient consult fellow.
• Observe and learn how various cardiac labs contribute to the assessment and management of the spectrum of disease processes seen in cardiology patients.
• Observe how the clinical decision unit (CDU) functions in the emergency department.
• Assess and assimilate observations made on the rotation through direct discussion with the cardiology fellow.