The Main responsibilities of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine has been to provide medical education centered in the development of competent and compassionate physicians who can become capable of being good scientist in either or both basic and applied research, whom also can be sensitive to the significant societal problems while providing high quality clinical services and promoting health status in Puerto Rico.
Our School has been committed with high quality standards in the education of our student while promoting knowledge base and cognitive skills, developing a learning environment based on learning by doing with the assumption of graded responsibility. The development of problem solving skills and lifelong learning is key in the commitment with educating our students.
For more the 40 years our Department of Pediatrics has been key in medical education, providing our students with the highest quality educational experience possible for its students. Teaching the most important and necessary knowledge and clinical skills important to all future physicians that will provide medical services to children, especially those that will become Pediatricians has been our priority.
Nydia Bonet, MD
Associate Director for Academic Affairs
tel: 787-756-4020
email: nydia.bonet@upr.edu
Overview
Year One and Two
The Department participates in core courses of the MD curriculum such as: Introduction to Clinical Medicine, Human Development, Integration Seminars I and II, Introduction to Biochemistry, Fundamental of Clinical Diagnosis and Mechanism of Disease. Community Pediatricians ascribed to our Department teach and are role models in their own private practices to our students while students do rotations in the preceptorship program. During these first two years students learn the most important fundamentals of pediatric medicine providing them with necessary knowledge and skills important for their clinical years and future practices.
Year Three
Medical students in the Pediatric Clinical Clerkship – MTER 7316, have the opportunity to do their core pediatric rotations at one of four clinical sites: metropolitan area – University Pediatric Hospital and San Juan City Hospital, northeast part – University of Puerto Rico Hospital at Carolina and west part of the Island – San Antonio Hospital. Each site has unique features and provides students an opportunity to evaluate a wide variety of pediatric patients.
This is a nine (9) week required third year course. The objectives of the pediatric core clerkship which are based on the Council on Medical Education in Pediatrics {COMSEP} core curriculum, are stated in outcome-based terms that allow assessment of student progress in developing the competencies required in the third year curriculum. Every student completes the same core curricular required clinical cases, participates in observed physical examinations, attend programmed didactic lectures and conferences, participates in a series of problem based and clinical thinking activities , rotate under the supervision of a faculty member in ward, nursery, emergency care and ambulatory clinics before the common final examinations. Students have also the opportunity to participate in unique workshops that provides them with skills in immunizations, emergency pediatric care, pediatric simulator, difficult patients communication skills, telephone management and are required to approve a three station objective structured clinical final exam (OSCE). Formative as well as summative evaluations are given to students.
Central oversight is provided by the Clerkship Director which is responsible for maintaining equivalency at all clinical sites. Constant communication with all clinical sites coordinators via teleconference, emails or telephone calls is maintained. These assures and provides student with the same opportunities to obtain the knowledge, skills, teaching and evaluation methodology across all the sites. For decades students have evaluated the course as excellent. One that they enjoy while providing all necessary tools for them to become better physicians.
Year Four
The Department of Pediatric has a compromised teaching faculty. Along the years the elective course program has been developed to provide students with an array of courses that will help them advance in their training to become a knowledgeable and skillful future physician. A selection of elective courses are also designed for students who select as their future specialty being a Pediatrician.
An Elective Course Coordinator has the main responsibility to give oversight to all elective course assuring students that equivalency will be maintained in their learning and evaluation process.
The faculty is stimulated to continually renovate their elective courses which are outcome based and competency based courses. New elective courses are under design continually.
Along the years students have valued the Pediatric elective course program at our Department. Students from other Medical Schools at the Island and from Medical Schools at the mainland value our didactic program and constantly apply to take our elective courses.
Application Process for the elective courses
