Family Medicine Fourth-Year Electives

Boston University students interested in any of the following Family Medicine elective or subinternship offerings should contact the Predoctoral Coordinator for more information and/or to inquire about availability.

Click a link to jump to the elective description or scroll down this page:

Students will see ambulatory patients at one of the affiliated residency sites, including South Boston Community Health Center and Codman Square Health Center. With appropriate supervision students will be expected to have first contact with patients and to do the initial work-up. The student will be assigned a faculty preceptor with whom he or she will meet frequently. Students will gain skills in the diagnosis of the undifferentiated patient, and the assessment and management of acute and chronic problems which commonly present in family medicine. Instruction in patient education and preventive medicine in the family context will be emphasized. Students will participate in staff conferences and may attend rounds, conferences and lectures that are part of the BMC Family Medicine Residency Program.

This elective is also available through the Boston Medical Center Minority Recruitment Program.

Click here to download application.

To The Top

The purpose of this elective is to give students a family-medicine-centered experience which includes prenatal care, perinatal care including labor and delivery, and inpatient postpartum care for women as well as newborn nursery care for their infants. The student will spend mornings on the inpatient floor caring for postpartum women and their infants and focusing on issues such as breastfeeding, the newborn exam, routine postpartum care, maternal counseling and anticipatory guidance. Afternoons will be spent either seeing primary care patients [with a focus on prenatal and pediatric patients] in clinic, researching and/or reading about a maternal/child health project which will be presented at the end of the elective, or on the labor and delivery floor. There will be several [1-2 per week] extended stretches of time on the labor and delivery floor to increase the student's likelihood of being actively involved in deliveries; occasionally these calls may include weekends. The exact schedule for each elective will be determined with the student prior to the start of the elective.

To The Top

Students will work as a member of team B4 on the medicine service at the Harrison Avenue Campus, BMC. The patient pool will be from the HealthNet Rounder system at BMC. Students will be acting interns working with 2nd and 3rd year Family Medicine residents. They will be responsible for evaluation and management of patients on the B4 team. Residents and the family physician ward attending will provide daily supervision, support, teaching, and feedback with respect to sub-intern's patients including the history obtained, physical exam findings, and management plans. There are many formal teaching opportunities available. Subinterns will attend and participate in the following scheduled educational activities:

Daily medicine morning report at 7:30 am in the conference rooms across from the cafeteria, 2nd floor at HAC.

• Monday: Family medicine resident noon conference – Peabody conference room, Dowling 1st floor.
• Tuesday: Family medicine noon conference – Dowling amphitheater, 1st floor
• Wednesday: Medicine firm conference at 11:30 am, 6th floor conference room, HAC.
• Wednesday: Family medicine afternoon seminar, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Dowling 5 south
• Thursday: Primary care noon conference

Students will also meet regularly with the B4 Ward attending for teaching rounds, case review and bedside work rounds. Weekly sub-intern teaching rounds with Firm B chief/designate is also offered. This Subinternship is offered to Boston University students as a priority. After BU students select this subinternship, non-BU students may enroll space permitting.

Note: This elective satisfies the subinternship requirement for BUSM students.

Description: Students will participate in the adult inpatient teaching service at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford, MA, a principal teaching institution for the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency Program. Students will function as subinterns under the supervision of family practice interns and residents. A critical care fellow may also work with the student in the ICU. Both Internists and Family Practitioners will be admitting patients to the teaching service and conduct work and teaching rounds. Responsibilities will include all aspects of inpatient care including evaluation of the patient, completing histories and physicals, rounding, and order and note writing. There are daily didactic lectures including videoconference links to the residency site. A night float system covers Sunday - Thursday nights 7:00 PM - 7:00 AM. Therefore the medical student will be on call 1-2 weeknights each week until 8 PM. The student will have two weekends off, and two weekends working overnight Friday and all day Sunday until 8:00 PM.

This subinternship is offered to Boston University students only.
Note: This elective satisfies the subinternship requirement for BUSM students.

To The Top

Description: Students will learn about the specialty of Family Practice and what makes Family Physicians unique in the way they care for patients and families. The clerkship is primarily an outpatient experience (includes 1 week of Family Practice Inpatient Service) in which the student works in a busy community hospital family practice center which serves as the continuity site for the residents and faculty. There is also an opportunity to spend some time in a rural family practice office if requested by the student. Clinical clerks will see outpatients independently and generate a history, appropriate physical exam, assessment and plan before presenting the patient to the family practice preceptor. This combination of caring for rural families plus an inner-city under-served population at the Residency provides rich learning opportunities encompassing a variety of medical, psychiatric and social concerns. Students will also have exposure to Family Practice inpatient care, attend deliveries, participate in outpatient procedures and home visits. Students will take call with a senior resident and residency faculty attending over the course of their preceptorship. Students will participate in a comprehensive didactic curriculum presented at the noon hour.

This elective is offered to Boston University students only.

To The Top

Description: The goal of this elective is to offer the student the opportunity for primary patient responsibility as a member of a team of family practice residents and attending family physicians on an inpatient family medicine service. The service includes pediatric, obstetric, ICU and medical patients. Students take histories, perform physicals, write orders and progress notes, and participate in rounds. Supervision is provided by senior family practice residents and the Chief Resident. Students spend one half-day per week at the FP Health Center to provide follow-up care for recently discharged patients and gain clinical experience managing ambulatory patients in the family practice setting. The SubInternship takes place in a nearby community hospital (Leominster Hospital) in an unopposed Family Practice Residency environment.

This subinternship is offered to Boston University students only.
Note: This elective satisfies the subinternship requirement for BUSM students.

To The Top

Information for Students Outside of Boston Univeristy

All elective slots are held for BU students until May 1, 2007. On this date we will begin to accept application from outside students. They will be reviewed in the order that they are recieved.

If you are interested in applying for an elective at Boston University Medical Center please email application along with your CV and personal statement to Jillian.McGuire@bmc.org on or after May 1st.

Title: Wilderness Elective

Description: The Deparment of Family Medicine at BU does not offer an elective in Wilderness Medicine, however such electives can be found on The Wilderness Medical Society's Web site.