Medical students are called clinical clerks in their clinical years. They enter into the health care team of postgraduate trainees, attending physicians, nurses, technicians and other health care providers and should quickly learn their role in the health care team.
An essential feature of the clerkship consists of in-depth contact with patients; students are strongly encouraged to make the most of such opportunities. Students take histories, examine patients, propose diagnostic and therapeutic plans, record their findings, present cases to the team, perform minor procedures under supervision, attend all scheduled lectures and conferences, participate in work rounds and teaching rounds with their peers and teachers, maintain a patient log and read extensively about their patients’ diseases. In surgery and gynecology, attendance in the operating room is required. In obstetrics, attendance is mandatory in prenatal and postpartum clinics; obstetrical patients must be followed through labor and delivery.