Family and Community Medicine (FCM)

FCM 0135 - Urban Community Health

1-4 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

Students who complete this track will graduate with a Distinction in Urban Community Health. This track will integrate formal coursework (MS-1 (starting in January of M1) and MS-2 elective periods, MS-3 and MS-4 priority of urban sites), community service, and professional development. Students in this M1 elective will use their elective half-days for clinical experiences at local community health centers and for diversity and implicit bias training with an emphasis on processing their experiences.

FCM 0136 - Role of the Healthcare Provider in an Athletics Ecosystem

3 Credits

This Pre-Clerkship Elective is designed to give students an introduction to the field of Sports Medicine and the Role of a Sports Medicine Physician in an Athletics Ecosystem. As a medical school affiliated with both an NCAA Division I institution and Primary Care Sports Medicine Division, there is a unique opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in the fastest-growing medical specialty. The course will consist of an introductory presentation and discussion by a Sports Medicine Physician that will provide an overview of the specialty and field, the history of sports medicine, the role of a sports medicine physician, and career paths and possibilities. Primary musculoskeletal injuries will also be covered during this introductory session. Participating students will have structured shadowing experiences in both the clinic and the field. Students will shadow the physician in the Primary Care Sports Medicine Clinic. Students will also be required to attend Training Room.

FCM 0301 - Family Medicine Clerkship

6 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

This rotation is designed to enable you to establish competencies in the comprehensive approach to the practice of medicine. The board specialty of Family Medicine is centered on lasting, caring relationships with patients and their families. Family Medicine physicians integrate the biological, clinical, and behavioral sciences to provide continuing and comprehensive health care. The scope of practice encompasses all ages and genders, each organ system, and every disease entity. Family Medicine physicians work in a variety of clinical settings and professional areas. They have the flexibility to define their careers based on their own skills and preferences. By learning in a "continuity" setting, we hope you will appreciate the challenges of medical problem-solving and the immense rewards that longitudinal care and the development of meaningful relationships with patients can bring.

FCM 0302 - Family Medicine Career Exploration

1-2 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

This course may be used to register for Family Medicine career exploration. The location of the experience may be at an SLU SOM affiliate or at another healthcare institution.

FCM 0304 - Family Medicine Career Exploration - Addiction Medicine

1-2 Credits

Students will have the opportunity to learn about the specialty of addiction medicine by engaging physicians, fellows, and an interdisciplinary team caring for individuals with substance use disorders (SUD). Students will also complete buprenorphine waiver training.

FCM 0410 - Global Health: Cross Cultural/International Experiences

2-12 Credits

The purpose of the elective is introduction to health promotion and disease prevention in countries other than the United States. The field placement will be of the student's choice, in rural health care centers, or urban public health facilities. The student will complete a journal or paper and develop a brief description of their experience for use by other students who are interested in an international medical rotation.Student must keep in mind the long time frame required to set up the elective.

FCM 0411 - Advanced Topics in Family and Community Health

2-12 Credits

The student will develop specific goals and an action plan to explore a topic related to community medicine, family medicine, and/or community health outreach. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:About one month before the elective starts a proposal template will be sent to the student. The proposal must be approved before a student starts the rotational period. If a student signs up for more than two weeks, two separate proposals must be completed. The student may choose to work at the same site; however, the focus area should change with the new session.

FCM 0413 - Rural Health

2-12 Credits

This elective is designed for the student to practice and understand family medicine and health problems in a rural community. Activities include hospital visits (including deliveries and newborn care), ambulatory care, and nursing home visits. Housing assistance may be provided at some sites.

FCM 0414 - Primary Care Research

2-12 Credits

This elective course offers medical students: (a) direct hands-on experience in primary care research, and (b) didactic training in clinical research methods. Each student will be matched with a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and will participate in the conduct of clinical research. Structured didactic training will be offered that focuses on clinical research methods (study designs, sample selection, measures, and statistical analyses) and research proposal development. The course provides an opportunity for medical students to learn how primary care research is conducted in practice and how to use research methods to answer important questions in clinical practice.

FCM 0416 - Post Graduate Training and Life Skills Mastery

2-12 Credits

FCM 416 is designed to provide students with a set of clinical skills leading to greater confidence in post-graduate residency training. This elective provides practical "hands on" opportunities.

FCM 0417 - Family Practice in an Urban Setting

2-12 Credits

The purpose of this elective is development of knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to practice family medicine in an urban health center or private office setting. The focus of this elective is the care of the patient and family in the context of an urban community. Interested students should call before signing up. Periodically, teaching faculty are away at conferences/vacations, so a period may not be available.

FCM 0419 - Web-Based Morbidity and Mortality Rounds

2-12 Credits

This elective provides students with experience in Morbidity & Mortality Rounds within a web-based environment. Cases presented are designed to provide information about patient safety and medical errors. The cases then have expert commentaries combining an evidence-based approach with observations and analysis. Students will be able to select case reports from a variety of fields (family practice, obstetrics-gynecology, internal medicine, etc.). In addition, students will gain experience in writing a patient morbidity & mortality report. The entire elective can be done via web-based interaction and e-mail correspondence.

FCM 0421 - Primary Care Sports Medicine

1-4 Credits

This elective will provide a broad experience in Sports Medicine. The student will rotate with various members of the sports medicine team, including athletic trainers, orthopedists, physical therapists, and primary care physicians within the different venues where sports medicine is practiced. The elective will emphasize broadening the student's clinical experience in sports medicine. Additionally, regularly scheduled case discussions of common sports medicine problems will provide a knowledge base for clinical application.

FCM 0426 - Urgent Care

2-12 Credits

The purpose of this elective is development of knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to practice in an urgent care setting with a focus on the care of the patient and family.

FCM 0427 - Medical Management of Eating Disorders

2-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

The purpose of this elective is for students to develop an increase in knowledge and skills that are necessary for the medical care of patients and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

FCM 0428 - Ambulatory Family Medicine - Mercy St. Louis

2-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

Elective at Mercy Family Medicine residency, for 4th yr students, in ambulatory setting, to gain more experience in output care and procedures.

FCM 0430 - Inter-Professional Team Seminars

1-3 Credits

This course focuses on developing skills for interprofessional teamwork and collaborative practice to improve patient safety and quality of care. Students from seven different professions are in the course: medicine, nursing, physician assistant, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and pharmacy. The course will primarily use small-group, faculty facilitated sessions. Students will be provided patient cases, readings, and assessments that must be completed for each seminar. The course is designed to improve knowledge and skills for collaborative practice based upon national IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and application in clinical settings.

FCM 0434 - Casa de Salud Ambulatory Clinic

2-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

This clerkship involves extensive first contact with patients in an ambulatory environment. The type of patient will vary greatly and will depend on the type of doctor working on a given day. Students will work under direct attending supervision. Doctors provide guidance/teaching on a one-on-one basis tailored appropriately to the individual student. Student will primarily work with physicians with specialties in the following areas: family medicine, internal medicine, gynecology, infectious disease, and gastroenterology. Students will also work with nurse practitioners and physician's assistants. If related to their area of interest, students may also have the opportunity to work with physical therapists, dietitians, and psychiatrists.

FCM 0436 - Medical Mission in El Salvador

1-3 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

FCM 0437 - Community Medicine

2-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

Working with a faculty member, students will develop and/or implement a service learning project with an agency of their choosing to address a community health need. The student will develop goals and objectives for this project and an action plan for implementation.

FCM 0438 - Sexuality & Human Development

1-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

A class covering basics of human sexuality and sex therapy. Conducted by licensed marital and Family Therapist.

FCM 0439 - Assessment and Treatment for Dementia

1-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

This course covers the background of assessment, diagnosis and treatment of dementia and is taught by a Marriage and Family Therapist who is Director of the Memory Clinic at SLU. Topics covered include: Background of dementia disorders, assessments tools, Treatment Approaches, Medications, Interventions, Treatment Planning, Caregiving, and Family Based Approaches.

FCM 0440 - Medical Mission to El Salvador

1-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

8 day medical mission experience in El Salvador. Helping hands medical missions (www.hhmm.org), is a Catholic medical mission organization with the dual purpose of serving the health care needs of the poor as well as to spiritually build up the participants of each mission. Resident physicians and 3rd or 4th year medical students see patients alongside family physicians or other primary care physicians. Our focus will be to meet some of the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the people through primary care. We will utilize a primary care and surgical team. each physician will see approximately 75 patients a day, at various sites. Our surgical team will operate at one hospital. Medical students and resident physicians are welcome to participate in this team effort. We have had family practice, internal medicine and OB residents join us in the past. Ob residents will primarily spend time in surgery.

FCM 0441 - Home-based Primary Care

4 Credits

Students will make home visits with an interdisciplinary team, and conduct telehealth visits when appropriate for a primarily geriatric patient population. Students will develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to provide care in the home setting.

FCM 0442 - Addiction Medicine

4 Credits

Students will have the opportunity to learn about the specialty of addiction medicine by engaging physicians, fellows and an interdisciplinary team caring for individuals with substance use disorders (SUD). Students will also complete buprenorphine waiver training.

FCM 0499 - FCM Student Chief

1-4 Credits

Students selected to take this elective will serve as "Student Chiefs" at the beginning of the required clerkships. Week 1: During this week you would receive instruction in how to teach and provide feedback in the clinical setting. You will also be expected to help with general third year orientation week.

FCM 0501 - Family Medicine Acting Internship: St. Elizabeth's Hospital

1-4 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

The Family Medicine Inpatient Service (FMIS) is a team of family medicine residents supervised by family medicine attendings. This team provides the inpatient care for the SLU-FP residency patients as well as community coverage patients admitted to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville, IL. The FMIS team covers patients admitted to the ICU, telemetry, and general medical wards. The goal of the sub-internship is to give fourth year medical students the opportunity to hone skills in the diagnosis and management of medical problems in the setting of a Family Medicine inpatient service. Additionally, sub-I's serve 1 week on the inpatient OB deck for a full family medicine subinternship experience. Supervision of subinterns is done by faculty, senior residents and interns.

FCM 0502 - Family Medicine Acting Internship: Mercy Family Medicine

1-4 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

The student will function as a sub-intern under the supervision of a senior (PGY-2 or PGY-3) resident and the attending inpatient physician. The student will evaluate and manage a broad range of patients admitted to Mercy Medical Center for acute medical, surgical, and obstetrical/post-partum care from initial assessment until discharge. Each sub-intern will spend three weeks on the Family Medicine Inpatient Service as a vital member of the team, assuming increased responsibility and involvement in the care of their patients.

FCM 0503 - Acting Internship Family Medicine: Urban Undeserved at St. Mary's

1-4 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

Participating students are active members of the Family Medicine Inpatient Service (FMIS) at the Saint Louis University Family Medicine Residency at SSM St. Mary's Health Center in Clayton. As sub-interns, they function as junior residents with the direct supervision of senior residents and family medicine faculty. Sub-interns evaluate and follow patients throughout their hospital stays with emphasis on coordination of care across multiple settings. Patients can be challenging and complex including urban underserved patients. Students will be encouraged to formulate assessments and plans with increasing depth, with a goals of preparation for their PGY-1 year.

FCM 0901 - Family Medicine Direct Patient Care

1-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

This course may be used to register for a Family Medicine elective. The elective experience must fulfill the requirements for a direct-patient care elective. The location of the experience may be at a SLU SOM affiliate or at another health care institution.

FCM 0903 - Family Medicine Research

1-12 Credits (Repeatable for credit)

This course may be used to register for a Family Medicine elective. The elective experience must fulfill the requirements for a research elective. The location of the experience may be at a SLU SOM affiliate or at another health care institution.