Temple Regional Campus

CLERKSHIP DIRECTORS & COORDINATORS

Our clerkship directors and coordinators assure that all of our medical students get the necessary curriculum required, utilizing an ever-expanding number of medical services and facilities in our community.

Emergency Medicine

Pratiksha Naik, MD
Clerkship Director
pratiksha.naik@bswhealth.org

The Emergency Medicine clerkship is designed to introduce students to the role of the emergency department in the larger scope of medicine. Often a patient’s first point of contact with the health system, the emergency department delivers care for conditions ranging from the acute and critical to the urgent but not emergent.

The four-week, fourth-year required rotation offers a niche for any student, regardless of their chosen specialty. Given the wide array of patients that present with emergencies, any future orthopedist, psychiatrist, pediatrician, or internist can easily find their place while the EM bound student will feel right at home among the busy, almost chaotic, environment. The ED offers an excellent environment for honing the soon-to-be intern’s knowledge in differentials and work-ups, and procedures are abundant to fine-tune any student’s skills.

The clerkship involves shifts at both Baylor Scott & White Medical Center (a level 1 trauma center, primary stroke center, and STEMI center of excellence) and Baylor Scott & White McLane’s Childrens’ Medical Center (a level 2 trauma center with access to PICU and NICU consultants). In addition to learning on shift, the rotation offers educational sessions, simulation-based scenarios, ultrasound training, and procedural practice.

For more information about the emergency medicine clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Lindsey Goodnight: Lindsey.Goodnight@BSWHealth.org or 254.724.0884.

Family Medicine

Stephen Sewell, MD
Clerkship Director
254.771.7707
stephen.sewell@bswhealth.org

Family Medicine encompasses an extremely large body of knowledge and an approach to patient care, and it is the desire of every department member that this rotation be a learning experience unlike any other.

Primarily based in an ambulatory setting, Family Medicine considers the total health care of the patient within the context of the individual's comprehensive environment, including: family, vocation and community, and provides an approach of continuous care across the age span. 

This clerkship has been designed in response to the projected needs of today’s medical student, who must develop techniques to pinpoint critical information quickly, incorporate results of recent research into patient care, and communicate in a culturally sensitive manner. While there is an emerging emphasis on ambulatory care, family physicians must be able to exercise a broad array of skills in many settings.

The faculty will strive to provide a learning environment conducive to students’ needs, as well as, foster the attainment of the stated learning goals and objectives required of the student during this clerkship.

For more information about the family medicine clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Jennifer Little: Jennifer.Little@BSWHealth.org or 254.771.7707.

Internal Medicine

Adam Brown, MD
Internal Medicine Clerkship Director
adam.brown@bswhealth.org

Internal Medicine is a core part of the clinical curriculum, and will serve as a prominent basis for an individual’s future career. During the eight-week rotation students will become proficient in history taking and physical exam skills, as well as oral and written communication. They will get the opportunity to work with master clinicians to learn both the art and science of medicine, and will see complicated and interesting diseases. 

This clerkship experience includes two primary training sites: Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS), and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center. Students will have the opportunity to help our Veterans in a 146-bed hospital serving 32 Texas counties. In addition, the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center is a 636-bed teaching hospital and a Level-I Trauma Center. These hospitals care for patients with a wide range of diseases, from the most common diagnoses to more complex and rare pathologies. Individuals will work alongside consultants from all of the major medical subspecialties, and attend teaching conferences specifically designed for medical students and residents.

Internal Medicine is challenging and this rotation will be critical in an individual’s preparation to become the best doctor possible.

For more information about the internal medicine clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Victor Gomez: Victor.Gomez@BSWHealth.org or 254.724.2607.

OB-GYN

Christopher Birkholz, MD
Clerkship Director
Christopher.Birkholz@BSWHealth.org

The Obstetrics & Gynecology clerkship provides information on human reproduction and women’s health care, which will be essential to an individual’s practice, regardless of their final career choice. This learning experience in the health care needs of women is critical to a student’s medical education.

During this course, the student’s time will be evenly divided between obstetrics and gynecology. While learning about obstetrics, most time will be spent in Labor and Delivery. Students will be exposed to evaluating the complications of pregnancy as well as understanding the labor process.

While on the gynecology service, students will be spending time in the clinic and operating room, and managing patients who are cared for by the inpatient team.

Our hope is that the student’s experience will help them to become a better physician and enable them to provide care for women of all ages in the future.

For more information about the OB-GYN clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Kelly Ray: Kelly.Ray@BSWHealth.org or 254.724.2574.

Pediatrics

Rebecca Freeman, MD
Clerkship Director
Rebecca.Freeman@BSWHealth.org

This Clerkship is designed to provide a top-notch experience into Pediatrics. Students will be given the opportunity to use the general pediatric knowledge they have already learned throughout their basic science studies and apply this knowledge to clinical experiences with pediatric patients. We have several clinical sites with excellent physicians and residents that give students the best experience possible.

The Pediatric Clerkship is a six-week course that provides an experience in the outpatient and inpatient settings, nursery and a specialty rotation. It is important for students to fully recognize that six weeks will pass quickly and they should keep their focus on the pediatric cases that are presented, reading material and the clinical experiences.

The current curriculum for Pediatrics reflects input from many sources: Texas A&M medical students, residents, pediatric teaching faculty and national medical student education trends from the Council On Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) (www.comsep.org). The intention of the clerkship is to always provide an interactive, informative course. Student participation and interaction in forums, teaching rounds, evidence-based presentations and case presentations are essential to better understand clinical presentations of illnesses, treatment options and relevance of basic science material. 

For more information about the pediatrics clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Kristen Randolph: Kristen.Randolph@BSWHealth.org or 254.935.5008.

Psychiatry

Phil Antunes, MD
Clerkship Director
Phillip.Antunes@BSWHealth.org

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatry is a unique mixture of neurobiology and psychology. Experiences during this clerkship will afford students the luxury to spend time with patients and really get to know them, as well as give them the opportunity to examine themselves and their reactions.

Psychiatric disorders, (depression, anxiety and substance abuse) are very common. The majority of people suffering from these conditions do not seek help from a mental health provider, but do see physicians in primary care and other specialties.

The time individuals spend on their psychiatry clerkship will help develop and hone their patient-interviewing skills. They will become more aware of the complexities of the doctor-patient relationship, which should benefit them regardless of the field of medicine they pursue.

Additionally, students will gain an appreciation of the importance of psychological and social factors and how they affect and interact with the physical, biological aspects of patients. A physician who is able to understand and integrate the “biopsychosocial” dimensions of his or her patients is ahead of the game, and will deliver better patient care.

For more information about the psychiatry clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Tina Miller: Tina.Miller@BSWHealth.org or 254.724.3874

Surgery

Dan Little, MD
Clerkship Director
Danny.Little@BSWHealth.org

The required eight-week, third-year clerkship taught by the Department of Surgery at all clinical campuses is designed to expose students to the basic principles of surgery through a personalized, comprehensive, high quality experience. The student will be appropriately supervised in the pre-operative evaluation, operative procedures and post-operative care of all surgical patients. This will be accomplished by participating in the hospital ward work, operating room and in the outpatient clinic.

This type of participation will enable the student to follow the patient through the complete process of diagnosis, management and outcome. The goal is to enable each student, regardless of their chosen field, to be knowledgeable with the diagnosis and management of a surgical patient. Students are instructed in basic techniques used in surgery.

Major emphasis is given to the principles of wound healing, fluid and electrolyte balance, the introduction to specific surgical diseases, multi-system trauma, inflammatory responses and malignancy. Ward rounds and the assignment of patients to students offer an opportunity for preoperative evaluation, postoperative management and the acquisition of sound surgical judgment. Lectures, subspecialty seminars and surgical grand rounds provide students the opportunity to enhance their abilities in the surgical field.

Simulation activities are designed to allow invasive procedure practice and team training in a low pressure, clinical environment. Participation in the operating room, postoperative management, in house call and case presentations help to complete the total surgical experience and provide continuity of care. Elective opportunities are available during the third year experience and are similar to the electives available during the fourth year rotation.

Students are evaluated by faculty and house staff (where applicable) through both an oral examination and a standardized written exam. The fourth-year elective program allows further exposure to all aspects of surgical disciplines.

For more information about the surgery clerkship, contact Clerkship Coordinator Terri Okun: Terri.Okun@BSWHealth.org or 254.935.4934.

CLINICAL EDUCATION LOCATIONS

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center

Baylor Scott and White Medical Center is licensed for over 600 beds and serves as a major academic and teaching hospital within the Baylor Scott & White Healthcare system. In October 2013, the hospital, as part of the Scott & White Healthcare system, merged with Baylor Health Care System to form Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas. Scott & White Medical Center has been synonymous with excellence in diagnosis, care and treatment for more than 100 years.

In addition to exceptional medical and surgical subspecialty teams, Scott & White Medical Center features the only Level 1 Trauma Center between Dallas and Austin, a new Bone and Joint Institute, advanced imaging facilities, and organ transplant services (heart, lung, kidney and pancreas). Its educational environment is enhanced by a state-of-the-art simulation center, the Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Medical Center, 35 ACGME (Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education) accredited residency and fellowship programs, many non-ACGME physician and clinical doctorate programs, and approximately 1,000 senior staff physicians. The Scott & White Medical Center graduate medical education programs train over 490 residents and fellows each year.

Central Texas Veterans Health Care System

Central Texas Veterans Health Care System is comprised of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers located in Temple and Waco, an outpatient clinic in Austin, as well as four community-based outpatient clinics. The system is one of the largest VA integrated health care systems and provides a full range of medical, surgical, psychiatric and rehabilitation services with inpatient medical/surgical hospital beds, a hospice unit and a community living center. Located on its Waco campus, CTVHCS has substantial inpatient psychiatric facilities and one of the few Blind Rehabilitation Centers in Veterans Affairs. CTVHCS conducts PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI) research for veterans through the VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans in Waco. Residents and fellows from Scott & White often receive training at CTVHCS.