Electives - Family Medicine

Chronic Disease Management

Elective Number: 1414 (arranged)

Rotation Supervisors: Drs. A. Ursulla Courtney & Anne Mounsey

Designated Signer: Wanda Hudson, McKim 3161

Evaluation should be given to: Attending on service

Duration: 4 weeks

Available: Rotation 8 - Class of 2008; Not available - Class of 2009

Report to: Dr. Courtney

Time to Report: 8:15 a.m.

Place to Report: Primary Care Center

Typical day: 8:00 am - 5:30 pm

Attendance: Attendance at elective activities is mandatory.

• Anyone who is ill or has a personal or family emergency must contact Student Affairs and the Attending on Service.
• Students are allowed to take off up to 1 day per week to interview between November 1 and February 1.
  • Specific days missed must be approved by the Attending on Service.

Number of students per rotation: 1/4

Course Description: This elective will help all students feel competent in managing the many patients seen with chronic diseases. Students will gain an understanding of the principles of chronic disease management by developing web-based cases and working with clinical faculty in the care of patients with chronic illness, such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease and hyperlipidemia. Students will develop web-based cases in chronic diseases with the assistance of family medicine faculty and IT support staff. In addition to participating in clinical care, students will also attend tutorials to discuss the evaluation and use of guidelines and principles of chronic disease management. The first two weeks of the electives will focus mainly on tutorial sessions with family medicine faculty and development of web-based cases. The following two weeks will focus predominately on clinical exposure by teaching the student to work with other health care professionals in the care of a patient with a chronic disease and by helping students teach patients how to manage their chronic disease through the use of behavioral strategies. Visiting students should follow the directions in their acceptance email to schedule CARECAST training.

Objectives:
• To help students understand the principles of chronic disease management
• To assist students in the development of web-based cases which will be used in the third year clerkship
• To allow students to participate in the clinical care of patients with chronic disease especially diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and hyperlipidemia
• To teach students how to work with other health care professionals in the care of a patient with a chronic disease
• To make students aware of guidelines and the use of guidelines that are available for the management of chronic illnesses
• To provide students with the ability to access evidence based resources with respect to the management of chronic illnesses
• To provide students with behavior change strategies that can be used in people with chronic illnesses to facilitate their care.