How clinical rotations are carried out in a med school?

Education

Clinical rotations are the final and most crucial phase of the MD program, as it takes the medical school education to the next level. During med school clinical rotations, students shadow medical professionals, physicians, and residents at teaching hospitals where they have access to patients and gain valuable clinical experience in a hospital setting. The core and elective clinical rotations allow the med school students to rotate through different departments and explore several specialties. During the clinical rotation, the students apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom and develop their clinical skills by treating real patients.

As the students enter their 6^th semester at the medical school, they leave their med college premises to go to the teaching hospitals to kick-start their medical journey by working in the hospital setting. In the teaching hospitals, the students get the opportunity to work with the students of other medical schools at the teaching hospitals in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

Let us now see how clinical rotations are carried once you enter the teaching hospital.

Duration of Clinical rotation

The clinical rotations program consists of 80 weeks of clinical training. Aspiring medical students are required to take 48 weeks of core clinical rotations and the major specialty areas. In addition to the core clinical rotations, the students are also required to complete 24 weeks of elective rotations or sub-internships.

Core Clinical Rotations

Core clinical rotations are mandatory rotations that the student must complete as a part of their degree requirement. Here are the major specialty areas that a medical student rotates through during the clinical rotations:

Internal Medicine: The 12 weeks of rotation in internal medicine exposes the medical students to a variety of medical problems. Thus, the students learn to diagnose and treat patients’ complaints.
Surgery: During the 12 weeks of rotation in surgery, the students get familiar with the health issues that require surgery as a part of the treatment.
Obstetrics and Gynecology: The aim of rotating in obstetrics and gynecology is to provide the knowledge of managing normal and abnormal changes in pregnancy. This rotation lasts for about 6 weeks.
Psychiatry: When you rotate 6 weeks in psychiatry, you can develop psychiatric concepts, skills, and attitudes that are needed for all students, irrespective of their plans.
Pediatrics: The goal of clinical rotations in Pediatrics is to allow future doctors to acquire basic knowledge of the children’s mental, physical and emotional development. It lasts for 6 weeks.

Elective Clinical Rotations

Elective clinical rotations are offered in the following subjects:

Cardiology
Oncology
Radiology
Gastroenterology
Ophthalmology
Neurology
Emergency Medicine

The students can choose from various elective clinical rotations that can help them later in the residency program.

A medical field can shape your entire career. It allows you to touch and impact human lives in a truly unique manner. Thus, choosing the best medical school becomes essential.

The Caribbean medical schools are emerging as the best institution providing medical education in a structured manner. These are island medical schools have designed their coursework to match the levels of the academically leading countries. Moreover, Caribbean medical schools offer excellent clinical rotation programs, ensuring that there are enough clerkship positions available, so the education is completed without any delay. Hence studying in a Caribbean medical school can make you an excellent medical professional.

education md