Endocrinology

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine offers a four-week elective rotation in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism that focuses on adult patients with diabetes mellitus and other endocrine and metabolic disorders. The Endocrinology Department provides comprehensive, team-centered care at three clinical sites for patients who live in the 40 counties of central and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Our diabetes care team includes physicians, advanced practitioners, a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) and a medical therapeutic pharmacist.  When added support is needed, we work closely with CDCES, pharmacists and dietitians in the community.  

Our comprehensive diabetes care includes diabetes and nutrition education, non-insulin hypoglycemic agents and intensive insulin therapy using subcutaneous insulin injections, insulin patches, insulin pump therapy and automated insulin delivery systems. We also analyze glycemic control via personal glucose meters, personal and professional continuous glucose monitoring and point-of-care A1c testing. 

We provide gender-affirming care and comprehensive management of a variety of endocrine disorders, including obesity, insulin resistance, benign thyroid and parathyroid disease, thyroid carcinoma, female and male reproductive disorders, pituitary and adrenal disorders, and metabolic bone disease. For patients with metabolic bone diseases, we interpret DEXA scanning and arrange injectable or infusion therapy for osteoporosis when needed. Finally, we perform dynamic endocrine testing to evaluate and treat patients with functional and nonfunctional pituitary and adrenal diseases. Our ability to care for our patients is further supported by robust cytopathology, surgery, oncology, radiology and genetics departments.

You’ll be integrated into our services through active involvement in the daily care of our patients. There will also be teaching and didactic instruction. You’ll see a variety of new and return patients in the outpatient setting.  

Faculty-guided observation will present opportunities for you to experience interpretation of thyroid ultrasound, pituitary/adrenal CT/MRI and bone density scans.  To broaden the educational experience, you’ll be excused from clinical duties to meet with endocrinology attendings for weekly didactic sessions. Other opportunities for learning will include observation of pharmacist and CDCES visits, participation in cystic fibrosis–related diabetes and neuroendocrine clinics, and attendance at a variety of educational conferences (including thyroid/parathyroid conference, pituitary conference, resident report, resident noon conference, morbidity and mortality (M&M) conferences and medical grand rounds. 

Goals and objectives

The overall goal of this medical student elective in Danville, Pa., 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 (ACGME) 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, you should act as the patient’s advocate.
• Medical knowledge: Demonstrate knowledge of and an interest in learning established and evolving biomedical, clinical and social sciences.
• Interpersonal skills and communication: Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that allow you to establish and maintain professional relationships with patients, families and other members of the healthcare team.
• Professionalism: Demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, an understanding of and sensitivity to diversity and a responsible fiduciary attitude toward your patients, profession and society.
• Systems-based practice: Develop a basic understanding of the contexts and systems in which healthcare is provided and demonstrate the ability to apply this knowledge to improve and optimize healthcare.