The required Pediatrics Core Clerkship offers medical students a comprehensive introduction to pediatric and adolescent care, covering both inpatient and ambulatory settings. The clerkship begins with an orientation focusing on procedural knowledge and essential topics such as well-care visits, newborn and adolescent care, and nutrition management. Students will spend time in ambulatory pediatrics, either in the community or at the WMed General Pediatric Clinic, where they will engage in direct patient care, observe interactions, and develop skills in patient interviewing and physical examination. The remaining time is dedicated to inpatient pediatrics, with rotations through day shifts, night shifts, and newborn care. The course aims to provide a thorough understanding of pediatric care from newborn through adolescence, enhancing clinical skills and preparing students for the evaluation and management of pediatric patients.

Students may develop an individualized research plan of their choice under the direction of a faculty member. Students should work with a faculty member to submit the form Elective Proposal to Educational Affairs at least eight weeks prior to the projected start date. This elective requires prior approval.

Students may develop an individualized course on a topic of their choice under the direction of a faculty member. Students should work with a faculty member to submit the form Elective Proposal to Educational Affairs at least eight weeks prior to the projected start date. This elective requires prior approval.

The purpose of this elective is to provide a learning experience for the advanced clerkship students with special interest in the field of pediatric and adolescent medicine. The main goal of the advanced clerkship pediatric student chief main is to provide support to core clerkship students transitioning into the Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine clerkship.

Pediatric Endocrinology is a primarily ambulatory 4th year elective based at the WMed Pediatric Subspecialty Clinic on Oakland Drive. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in consultations at the Bronson Children's Hospital in downtown Kalamazoo, MI. Students may spend two or four weeks in our active academic pediatric endocrinology program. The site available is WMed Pediatric Subspecialty Clinic.

The student will join the Bronson Children's Hospital Pediatric hematology-oncology unit that is the tertiary care center for blood disorders and cancer for children and adolescents in Southwest Michigan. As a member of the pediatric hematology-oncology team, the student participates in evaluating outpatients, rounding on the inpatient hematology-oncology service and performing inpatient consultations. Selected procedures may be performed (lumbar punctures and bone marrow aspirations). The pediatric hematology-oncology faculty will provide the student with a study outline and reading materials. Independent projects may be arranged. The sites available are WMed Pediatric Clinics.

Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine is primarily an outpatient experience, but student will participate in all Pediatric activities including Morning report and resident block conferences. The student will have ample opportunity to interview patients, perform physical examinations and discuss management of the most common pulmonary disorders. The student will participate in inpatient rounds and consults on patient admitted at Bronson hospital. They will have opportunity to observe a multidisciplinary team during the Cystic Fibrosis and Ventilation clinics. The student will observe bronchoscopy and spirometry or other pulmonary function testing. Emphasis is also placed on general pediatric issues: growth, immunization, risk of smoking or exposure to tobacco smoke, and infection control, patient education, safety and planning of care. The sites available are WMed Pediatric Subspecialty Clinics.

The student will be working with the Bronson Children's Hospital Pediatric Cardiology Faculty in both the inpatient, consultative, and ambulatory clinic settings. Bronson Children's Hospital serves as the tertiary care referral center for Southwest Michigan.

This two-week elective will provide the student with an opportunity to review the literature and participate in the clinical care of patients with disordered eating and eating disorders. Students will attend clinic 3 times weekly with Drs. Cabral and Gibson at the Oakland Drive campus and accompany faculty if there are inpatient consults. While on the rotation, students will be tasked to contribute to patient and parent education materials or develop eating disorder prevention materials that could be presented at the community level. In the past, we have had opportunity to present to elementary and middle school classes, but uncertain whether this will be available to students as we establish "new normals" post pandemic. We are also happy to explore opportunity for students to spend time with eating disorder professionals in the community to get a broader sense of the roles, responsibilities, teamwork and communication required to effectively care for this patient population within interprofessional teams.

Ambulatory clerkships provide the opportunity for students to assume initial responsibility for the evaluation of patients in the ambulatory setting. Supervision will be provided by faculty preceptors in the academic setting as well as community private practices. Students expand upon competencies they developed during the third year as they team with residents and/or preceptors to provide preventive health services as well as acute and chronic illness management. The faster pace of ambulatory care provides an environment that strengthens patient and family communication skills, rapport development, and oral presentations. The use of evidence to inform treatment and counseling of patients and their caregivers are additional competencies that are highlighted in the outpatient setting.Ambulatory Pediatrics is an outpatient pediatric rotation that utilizes the WMed Pediatric Clinic as well as a community pediatric office as potential clinical sites. Fourth year students who have successfully completed all Year 3 required clerkships are eligible to register for this course. During this rotation, students will focus on understanding the normal progression of growth and development from infancy through adolescence. Students will also develop their diagnostic and management skills of common acute pediatric complaints, with a focus on respiratory, abdominal and dermatologic problems, as well as common behavioral and mental health disorders. Faculty will all have appointments in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

This 1 week elective that creates an opportunity for the student to serve as a Medical health Officer for Pretty Lake Camp, a local camp that serves underprivileged children in Kalamazoo County. Choose 1 week from the offered summer camp dates. This elective is designed for approximately 40-45 hours per week depending on the camp session. This elective will include a wide range of activities including camper intakes and an opportunity to participate in range of services to accomplish objectives.

This goal of this rotation is to increase resident and student training in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, treatment, and referral of services for mental and behavioral health conditions seen within pediatric populations. Learners will also have exposure to the role of psychologists/mental health professionals within medical settings and working with primarily medical presenting concerns.
Residents and students will get further exposure to clinical and didactic training experiences through sites within our Division of Pediatric Psychology and a variety of external sites providing services to children and adolescents experiencing a wide variety of mental and behavioral health concerns.

Advanced hospital selectives provide the opportunity for students to assume greater responsibility for patient care of the hospitalized patient, with oversight from supervising residents and attending physicians. Students expand upon competencies they develop during the third year as they care for one to two patients at a time. Additional expectations include responsibility for developing management plans, writing orders, patient handovers and transfers of care, recognizing the policies that support patient safety, and developing competency in procedures that they will perform independently as residents. Fourth year students also assist in teaching third year students.

Advanced Hospital Pediatrics is a hospital based pediatric rotation that utilizes Bronson Children's Hospital as its clinical site. This center is the tertiary care referral center for pediatric disorders in Southwest Michigan. Fourth year students who have successfully completed all Year 3 required clerkships are eligible to register for this course. During this rotation, students will focus on the development of patient management skills as they assume primary responsibility for patient care.

Faculty for this rotation are the Bronson Children's Hospital Pediatric Referral Service.

This rotation offers students the opportunity to accelerate their learning by spending a four week block in the intensive care unit. The rotation provides the student the opportunity to diagnose and treat of a wide range of clinical conditions common among critically ill patients. Students will enhance their knowledge and skill in caring for the sickest patients in the hospital. The Clinical site utilized for the Pediatric Advanced Critical Care is the pediatric ICU at Bronson Children's Hospital. Students will be paired with interns and residents, and will participate in the ICU in a dedicated fashion; the intent is for students to function as a "subintern" and will result in a high level learning experience.

Students will be expected to participate on rounds, will continue to perfect the gathering and synthesis of data, and expand on their ability to make diagnoses and develop care plans. The student will be expected to gather a history based upon interview of patients/families, evaluate laboratory and radiographic material, and generate differential diagnoses and management plans. They will also be expected to improve their documentation skills by writing patient notes in the electronic medical record.

This is a 4 week block rotation, and will correspond to the calendar set forth by the Western Michigan University School of Medicine. This varies on the time of year and the rotation site. The medical ICU consists of patients with primarily medical diseases affecting the major organs.

This required rotation offers students the opportunity to accelerate their learning by spending a four-week block in the intensive care unit. The rotation provides students the opportunity to diagnose and treat of a wide range of clinical conditions common among critically ill patients. Students will enhance their knowledge and skill in caring for the sickest patients in the hospital. The clinical site utilized by the Advanced Neonatal Pediatric Critical Care is the Pediatric ICU at Bronson. Students will be paired with interns and residents, and will participate in the ICU in a dedicated fashion; the intent is for this rotation to be a "subinternship" and be a high-level learning experience.

Students will be expected to participate on rounds, continue to perfect the gathering and synthesis of data, and expand their ability to make diagnoses and care plans. Students will be expected to be able to gather a history based upon interview of patients/families, evaluate laboratory and radiographic material, and generate differential diagnoses and plans. They are expected to improve their documentation skills by writing patient notes in the electronic medical record.

This is a 4-week block rotation and will correspond with the Western Michigan University School of Medicine calendar.