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UTGSM Adds Three Core M3 Medical Student Clerkships

New medical education programs based at the campus of The University of Tennessee Medical Center could help boost the quality of students, and thus, future physicians in the Knoxville region, according to leaders at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine. The UT Health Science Center College of Medicine recently approved three new clerkships for the UT Graduate School of Medicine to implement in May for third year medical students.

The Graduate School of Medicine provides education and training for medical residents and fellows as well as third and fourth year undergraduate medical students. Currently, though, the third year medical students cannot complete their full medical training in Knoxville because while seven clerkships are required for core training, the Graduate School of Medicine offers just four. The approval of the new clerkships, often called rotations, in pediatrics, psychiatry and neurology, means the Graduate School of Medicine can now offer a full schedule and allow the students to remain in Knoxville to complete their medical school experience.

“While this is important for our many students, it is critical to our mission of recruiting residents who will graduate and practice in East Tennessee,” said James Neutens, PhD, Dean of UT Graduate School of Medicine. “We know that students who complete their medical school training and residency in the same location are much more likely to practice in the same geographic area. This is particularly important as we face a shortage of physicians in the very near future.”

The Graduate School of Medicine will conduct the new clerkships in affiliation with UT Medical Center, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Blount Memorial Hospital. The new clerkships will add approximately 28 students to the programs of the Graduate School of Medicine each year.

The core clerkship programs already offered by the program for third year students include family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and general surgery.

January 31, 2013