QUCOM Clinical Program Overview

Welcome to QUCOM’s 75 weeks of clinical training.  Our goal is to produce caring, spiritual, capable, and compassionate graduates with competence in medical knowledge, management, clinical and communication skills. We shall serve as your mentor and critic in order for you to conduct yourselves with the utmost professional behavior.

Students will be well-positioned to begin their clinical rotations having completed our integrated QUCOM fifth semester and USMLE Part I review.  The robust clinical training curriculum consists of both inpatient and outpatient care with daily lectures and didactic learning at established academic teaching facilities located in the United States (Florida, Georgia, Chicago and New York), and the West Indies.  Our newest curriculum includes a variety of standardized lectures and test preparation opportunities for students to succeed when taking The USMLE Part II Review: CK and CS.  The core rotations consist consists of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery.  Both student and preceptors use an updated clinical handbook which is updated yearly.  Mid way through each rotation, a faculty assessment form is used for direction and discussion with each student.

During each student clinical rotation, AAMC CORE ENTRUSTABLE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES for aspiring students seeking residencies, QUCOM students are provided with supervised activities and performance opportunities:

  • Gather patient history and perform a physical examination
  • Prioritize a differential diagnosis following a clinical encounter
  • Recommend and interpret common diagnostic and screening tests
  • Enter and discuss orders/prescriptions
  • Document a clinical encounter in the patient record
  • Provide an oral presentation of a clinical encounter
  • Form clinical questions and assess clinical evidence to advance patient care
  • Understand the meaning of patient handover to transition care responsibility
  • Collaborate as a member of an inter-professional team
  • Recognize a patient requiring urgent or emergent care, initiate evaluation and management of care
  • Obtain informed consent for tests and/or procedures
  • Identify healthcare system failures and foster a culture of safety and improvement.

In addition, students take NBME Shelf Exams for each core; students must fulfil certain activities listed in each core rotation as listed in the Clinical Handbook.QUCOM students must hand in several cases, which they participated in, to the Preceptor who will then evaluate and submit to the Clinical Dean. All clinical grades, once reviewed, are sent to The Student Promotion Committee.

All clinical students will be required to choose a sub-internship in a primary care track (Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics or Obstetrics/Gynecology). Additionally, two electives in primary care will be required during the student’s fourth year. The completion of the program will ensure each student has the AAMC core entrustable activities necessary for applying to a residency committee.

As you can determine from my above remarks, this is a team effort.  All of us at QUCOM are in this together.

Jose David Suarez, MD
Clinical Dean