Pediatrics Clinical Practice

COURSE OUTLINE (2021-2022)

1. GENERAL

Lectures

Tutoring

Clinical practice

On-call time

Total

CREDIT UNITS 

5

5

20

4

34

11

2. LEARNING RESULTS

The general purpose of the course is the theoretical and practical training of medical students in the field of Pediatrics.

Students who have received the basic knowledge of Pediatrics in the previous year will present pediatric cases, practice clinical examination, and perform simple procedures.

The specific objectives of the course are specialized in the following intended learning outcomes:

• Present the medical history of a hospitalized patient.
• Evaluate clinical laboratory findings
• Present the daily progress of hospitalized patients
• Diagnostic approach and differential diagnosis
• Learning appropriate treatments for common pediatric diseases
• Select the clinical and laboratory tests required for the diagnostic approach of the patient.
• Search and evaluation of recent literature
• Preparation and presentation of pediatric cases using recent literature.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to use the acquired knowledge to:

• Take a detailed pediatric medical history.
• Present a comprehensive medical history
• Perform a physical examination on pediatric patients of all ages.
• Formulate a differential diagnosis with synthesis and analysis of data from history, clinical examination, and laboratory findings using classic and new diagnostic methods.
• Select the clinical and laboratory test required for the patient's diagnostic approach.
• Perform simple medical procedures, such as venipuncture.
• Assess the course of the disease.
• Know the treatment of common pediatric diseases.
• Be able to manage high-risk newborns.
• Present a medical subject based on recent literature.

3. COURSE CONTENT 

Course Description / Content: The topics included are:

• The content of Pediatrics I and Pediatrics II
• The chapter "Fluids and Electrolytes"
• The "treatments of Pediatric Diseases"

4. TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS - EVALUATION

Program of the 2-month clinical practice

• Daily 08.30 – 14.30 in the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Thessaly at the University General Hospital of Larissa

08.30 - 9.30: Morning Report by the doctors, residents, and pediatric specialists, who were on-call duty during the previous day: presentation on the new admissions and clinical progress of the remaining patients. - All the medical staff of the Department and the medical students attends the Morning Report.

09.30 - 10.30: Visit to the wards in small groups: each medical student has the responsibility of one or two patients that they present during the official visit to the wards that comes later. A specific resident and an attending supervise each medical student's clinical activities.

11.30 - 13.00: Official Visit to the wards attended by the medical students and all the medical staff of the Department.

Rotation of the medical students: Small groups of three students spend one week at the Outpatient Clinics of the Department of Pediatrics and another week at the Department of Neonatology-NICU of the University of Thessaly.

13.00 - 13.30: Presentation of a case report by a medical student (in PowerPoint form).

13.30 - 14.30: Lectures, based on program, presented by members of faculty and physicians.

• "Οn call" duties for the medical students - program

In addition to the morning-early afternoon training program, each medical student has to participate in the activities of the Pediatric Emergency Room during late afternoon or evening for a 4-hour on-call duty (either 14.00 – 20.00 or 20.00 – midnight; in addition, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: at 10.00 – 14.00). During the 2-month clinical practice, each medical student is expected to participate in "on-call" duty on eight different days.

Specialized teaching support software (MS PowerPoint) and bibliography and scientific data management (PubMed) are used. Support of the learning process through the electronic platform E-CLASS

• Clinical Practice: Semester Workload (8 weeks x 20 hours) 160
• Lectures: Semester Workload (8 weeks x 10 hours) 80
• On-call duty: Semester Workload (8 weeks x 4 hours) 32

TOTAL SEMESTER: 11 ECTS

The final score arises from the performance of the medical student in oral exams. In addition, the following are taken into consideration: (a) the performance at the Clinical Practice and (b) the performance at the case report presentation.

5. RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. NELSON ESSENTIALS OF PEDIATRICS, EIGHTH EDITION, Elsevier, 2019
2. American Academy of Pediatrics Textbook of Pediatric Care, 2nd Edition: ΒROKEN HILL PUBLISHERS LTD