School of Medicine

M.D. Program Core Clerkships

Master
Content

During the core clerkships, students complete rotations at several of our clinical training sites, most located within walking distance of our main campus in the Texas Medical Center. 

You will have input into the order in which you rotate through the required clerkships. Learn about each clerkship below.

Heading

Emergency Medicine Clerkship

Content

The Emergency Medicine course is a two-week* rotation that is designed to give students exposure to the field of Emergency Medicine and the emergent approach and stabilization to the undifferentiated patient. This course will take place in the Ben Taub General Hospital Emergency Room, which sees  approximately 100,000 patients a year and is also a Level 1 Trauma Center. As part of this rotation, students will learn the emergency medicine approach to common chief complaints. Commonly, the student will be the first provider to take a full history and physical from a patient and from this form a differential and a therapeutic plan to present to the senior resident and the attending. In addition, students will have the ability to perform common Emergency Medicine procedures: bag-valve mask ventilation, FAST ultrasound, laceration repairs, incision and drainage, splinting and IV insertion. Supplementing the clinical experience, the students will also have three hours of active learning didactics a week. The students will also attend the Emergency Medicine grand rounds.

The Emergency Medicine Clerkship takes place in the Ben Taub Hospital Emergency Room, which sees approximately 100,000 patients a year and is also a Level 1 Trauma Center.

Learn more about the Henry J.N. Taub Department of Emergency Medicne at Baylor.

Credits: 2*

Note: Beginning with the Graduating Class of 2027, the Emergency Medicine Clerkship will be four weeks long and will be worth four Credits.

Heading

Family and Community Medicine Clerkship

Content

The Family and Community Medicine Clerkship introduces students to the role and identity of the family physician in today’s healthcare system and demonstrates the family medicine approach to the comprehensive care of common health problems.

Students will spend the majority of clerkship time in the office of a family physician preceptor, where they will learn to conduct different types of ambulatory visits and to diagnose and manage common conditions seen by family physicians. Additional learning opportunities are provided through seminars and self-directed activities including videos, case studies, and recommended readings.

Learn more about the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor.

Credits: 4

Heading

Medicine Clerkship

Content

Core Medicine is a clinical rotation designed to develop students' skills in the diagnosis and management of illness in adults. Each student will have a unique experience in medicine, but all students will rotate to the same core hospitals and undertake the same curriculum. Learning is often self-directed and based on the individual patients seen during the clinical experience. Students will learn a great deal about physical diagnosis, laboratory evaluation and differential diagnosis of important disorders. Students will also be expected to learn fundamental aspects of therapy that will help develop their competency in the assessment and treatment of common adult illnesses.

Learn more about the Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine at Baylor.

Credits: 8

Heading

Neurology Clerkship

Content

The required Clerkship in Neurology is a four-week rotation designed to apply the skills of localizing pathology within the neuraxis to evaluate and diagnose patients with neurological diseases and discuss management issues. Students will spend the majority of their time at one hospital in the inpatient services and have the opportunity to evaluate patients in the ambulatory setting as well. Students will learn through didactic lectures, team-based learning sessions, supervised direct patient interaction, and clinical instruction.

Learn more about the Department of Neurology at Baylor.

Credits: 4

Heading

Obstetrics/Gynecology (OB/GYN) Clerkship

Content

The OB/GYN Clerkship is designed to provide medical students with the knowledge and skills necessary to compassionately care for women of all ages. The student will be exposed to the breadth of obstetrics and gynecology, while focusing on skills unique to the field including pelvic examinations, vaginal delivery techniques, and exposure to the surgical environment. The clerkship goal is for the student to develop core clinical knowledge essential for providing comprehensive care and advocacy for all aspects of women’s health.

Learn more about the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor.

Credits: 6.0

Heading

Pediatric Clerkship

Content

The Pediatric Clerkship is designed to provide students with high-quality, engaging clinical experiences to develop a basic knowledge of childhood growth and development (physical, physiologic and psychosocial) and management of illness from birth through adolescence. Students will work in inpatient and outpatient settings to gain exposure and experience in both routine well childcare and the management of acute and chronic pediatric medical problems. Students will also begin to appreciate the importance of longitudinal relationships and observe the dynamic process unique to the pediatric patient. This clerkship aims to help students feel more comfortable in dealing with pediatric patients regardless of their ultimate choice of medical specialty.

Learn more about the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor.

Credits: 6.0

Heading

Psychiatry Clerkship

Content

The Psychiatry Clerkship strives to educate students in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness as well as the spectrum of normal and abnormal behavior through the lifespan. Students will be given an appreciation of mental health and mental illness in all areas of healthcare, and we hope that students will strive to be a psychologically informed physician. In the clerkship, students will obtain information from patients via the psychiatric interview, work on primary and differential diagnoses, learn to manage psychiatric illnesses, critically evaluate treatments in psychiatry, and improve overall communication skills with patients.

Learn more about the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor.

Credits: 4.0

Heading

Surgery Clerkship

Content

The Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery welcomes students to their core clerkship. The mission of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery is to inspire the next generation of surgeons by providing medical students with a balanced surgical experience that will meet core surgical competencies in both knowledge and skills. As a member of a surgical team, students will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of perioperative management of surgical patients in various hospital settings. Students will learn the presenting signs, diagnosis and treatment of common surgical diseases. During this clerkship, students will spend three weeks on a general surgery service, three weeks on a surgery subspecialty service, or Surgical ICU. The didactic schedule includes lectures from the Department of Surgery’s faculty leadership, online modules, small group teaching sessions, and a weekly skill lab.

Learn more about the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor.

Credits: 6