AAO-HNSF Primary Care Otolaryngology Handbook

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Clinical Rotation and Physical Exam

The goals of this book are to help guide medical students as they continue to develop the skills necessary to be excellent clinicians. In addition, this book was created to teach the basics of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery. The transition between the basic science and clinical years of medical school often is difficult and overwhelming. After spending two years developing an academic knowledge base on which to build, students are exposed to the challenges of clinical medicine for the first time during the third year. In addition, the third year is often a time of constant change, with short periods of time spent on different rotations and exposed to a vast number of individuals and personalities. To help acclimate students to the environment they are entering, it is important that they consider themselves as part of the medical team that now has the important responsibility of caring for patients. Displaying empathy, attentiveness, and overall professionalism goes a long way in how students are perceived by their senior colleagues and patients. As medical students, it can be difficult at times for you to understand your role in the healthcare team, especially when just starting a rotation. You should work to become an active member of the team . If you show a genuine interest in learning and taking care of patients, your teamwill be more likely to take extra time to teach you. Medical students frequently have extra time to spend with their patients, talking with patients about their past medical problems, family, and social history as they pertain to their disease process. Most important, you should work toward estab- lishing a true patient–physician relationship . This type of relationship establishes the medical student as an important part of the healthcare team, is beneficial to the patient’s overall care, and creates long-term behaviors that translate into the development of an excellent future physician.

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Primary Care Otolaryngology