Drexel University

Medicine Pathway

(curriculum as of Class of 2026)

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REVIEW FOR PATHWAY 2025-2026:


Introduction

The Department of Medicine offers a Discipline-based Pathway for senior students. The pathway is designed to assist students who are considering a career in general Internal Medicine or one of its many subspecialties. The Pathway will allow students to explore a vast array of choices within the field of Internal Medicine. Students will learn about the field through inpatient, outpatient and critical care experiences.

Sites and Personnel - All initial inquiries about Medicine Pathway Advising and​/or the Chair of Medicine Departmental Letter should be directed to Marie Hartman, Medical Student Coordinator. Her email address is: mh37@drexel.edu. Please do not contact the Pathway Directors until you are assigned to one based on availability.  Marie will contact you once your advisor has been designated. 

Pathway Co-Directors and Site Coordinator:
Drexel University College of Medicine
Janet Fitzpatrick, M.D.
jhf32@drexel.edu

Nathalie May, M.D.
nsm27@drexel.edu

Coordinator: Marie Hartman
(215) 991-8503 Phone
(215) 843-7738 Fax
mh37@drexel.edu

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Goals and Objectives

The major goal of the Department of Medicine's Senior Year Discipline-based Pathway is to assist students in structuring their senior year to prepare them for residency training in internal medicine. The pathway includes rotations in the ambulatory setting, as well as in inpatient and critical care areas. Students also are guided to selection of electives in various medicine and non-medicine disciplines, and should use these menus to increase their knowledge bases in areas where they feel deficient and broaden their exposure to areas that complement the practice of internal medicine.

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Description of Pathway

Required Courses

Emergency Medicine Subinternship
Emergency Medicine Subinternship is required by the University as a senior year course. During this course we would expect that the student will learn the principles of rapid assessment and stabilization of critically ill and injured patients; learn the initial evaluation and management of the wide range of undifferentiated patient complaints in the Emergency Department; gain skills, specialized examination technique and real-time interpretation of diagnostic studies; participate in common and more advanced procedures.

Required Subinternship Objectives: Medicine Pathway students are required to complete the Medicine Subinternship.
By the end of the rotation learners will be able to:

  1. Take ownership of their patients and be the primary point person regarding their care.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to care for patients with increasing independence while seeking help when appropriate
  3. Handle the daily tasks of an intern including preparing for rounds, presenting on rounds, interprofessional knowledge and communication skills, and patient interactions, histories and physicals, note writing of all varieties, and sign-out in a proficient and efficient manner.
  4. Apply their knowledge towards diagnosis and management of common acute complaints and chronic conditions, creating care plans and communicating with consultants as necessary.
  5. Perform general procedures through demonstration of the necessary preparation and key issues required for the performance of procedures, including understanding patient-specific factors, indications, contraindications, risks, benefits, and alternatives. 
  6. Demonstrate reliable mechanical skills in performing procedures in most situations and knows when to seek help for procedures or situations beyond the learner’s abilities.
  7. Perform safe transitions of care, coordination of care, and discharge planning.

Subinternship in MICU or CCU- Strongly Recommended
Students may choose an additional subinternship in either the Medical Intensive Care Unit or the Cardiac Care Unit. This will enable students to gain experience with more critically ill medical patients. While an Emergency Medicine is sufficient to meet the requirements of the Pathway, the more intense experience with critically ill patients in an Intensive Care Unit, where students will learn the details of things like ventilator and pressor management in depth, will likely be better preparation and enhance confidence prior to beginning as an Internal Medicine Intern.

Electives - Recommended
It is recommended that students take two or three medicine electives and at least one non-medicine elective, however variations are acceptable.  Of note, students are only permitted to take a maximum of 24 weeks in medicine, including the medicine subinternships.

Department of Medicine Electives
It is recommended that the student choose two or three Elective Courses from the standard list of Medicine electives. These subspecialty experiences may be from the DUCOM "home" clinical sites or an "away" clinical site of an LCME-approved medical school or ACGME-approved residency affiliated program. These experiences will broaden students’ exposure to ambulatory and subspecialty medicine in consultative care and/or primary care settings. Two Medicine Subspecialty rotations are strongly recommended for students in the Medicine Pathway.  Some Medicine subspecialties offer two week rotations.  Students may opt for these two-week rotations if they would like a broader range of subspecialty exposure.

Department Of Medicine - Medicine Subspecialty Electives
It is recommended that the student choose two Elective Courses from the standard list of Medicine subspecialties. These subspecialty experiences may be from the DUCOM "home" clinical sites or an "away" clinical site of an LCME-approved medical school or ACGME-approved residency affiliated program. These experiences will broaden students’ exposure to subspecialty medicine in consultative care and/or primary care settings. Two Medicine Subspecialty rotations are strongly recommended for students in the Medicine Pathway.

Department of Medicine Subspecialty Menu

Non-Medicine Elective
The student will benefit from experience in non-medicine disciplines. This can be done at either a "home" or "away" site.  These rotations can broaden the student’s educational experience to complement the Medicine discipline experience.  These can be chosen by the pathway student depending on interest.

Some Suggested Non-Medicine Electives

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Textbooks and Learning Resources

The standard textbooks of Medicine are recommended as references including: Harrison's and Cecil Textbooks of Medicine. The Washington Manual is recommended as a quick reference while working on the wards.

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Evaluation

Evaluation of the Student
The student's performance in each rotation will be evaluated by supervising physicians, and residents when appropriate, using the standard Drexel University College of Medicine clinical evaluation form. Students not receiving a grade of satisfactory or higher will be counseled and provided with remediation.

Evaluation of 4th year Courses
Upon completion of each rotation, students are encouraged to complete the end-of-rotation evaluation form in DOCSS. Students have the opportunity to provide feedback on the rotation as well as on specific faculty (and residents) with whom they worked in DOCSS. All feedback is de-identified.

Evaluation of the Pathway
Students are encouraged to complete an end-of-year Pathway evaluation for the Pathway. The feedback from this evaluation will help in advising future students more effectively.

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The provisions of The Student Handbook of Drexel University College of Medicine are not to be regarded as a contract between any student and the College of Medicine. The College of Medicine may, at any time, change any provisions, curriculum requirements, teaching facilities, affiliated teaching sites and/or their amenities, bylaws, rules, regulations and policies as may be necessary in the interest of the University, College of Medicine, and its students.
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Revised 01/25/2024-- Specific questions or comments about the content of this page may be directed to the Division of Clinical Education