New academic year for clinical education begins

Aarohi Munshi, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine and Family Medicine Clerkship Director, 
Department of Family and Community Medicine

April 28, 2025, marks the beginning of the new academic year for our third-year medical students starting clerkships. This is an exciting time for them as they embark on clinical education. 

I want to take a moment to reflect on some key developments from the past year in the family medicine clerkship. One of the highlights was the incorporation of the Neighborhood Health

Hub, a half-day, student-led, community health initiative providing students with hands-on experience in routine preventative screenings and population health. Additionally, as we move into a new generation of medical education and clinical practice, the incorporation of an artificial intelligence curriculum was piloted in the form of a Zoom workshop with ongoing work for final implementation.

As we move forward, we remain committed to our learning objectives during their six-week clerkship as below:

Kathleen Kelly, MD, FACP, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs

We all have fond memories of one or two teachers we would like to emulate. How did they do it? They transmitted clinical knowledge, essential skills and behaviors with apparent ease and effectiveness.  Most medical educators learn how to teach on an ad hoc basis, adopting approaches observed in practice or through personal experience.

University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford (UICOMR) aims to promote physician teaching expertise through the collaborative efforts of our faculty development teams on 

our three campuses. Through our needs assessment surveys, we have learned that the faculty want online access to short courses and learning modules that address fundamental topics for effective teaching.

Please schedule time to check out some of the following resources available at UICOM. Many of the sessions offer CME credits for clinicians.

For those of you inclined to read a book on teaching in medical education, check out these three resources that have been endorsed by many seasoned medical educators on the UICOMR campus:

Kathleen Monteleone, MPH, Associate Director Community Engagement and Development, Research Associate II, Division of Health Research and Evaluation, 
Department of Family and Community Medicine

The third-year medical students at the UICOMR are embarking on a meaningful half-day community service experience at the Booker Washington Community Center. This initiative is part of the Family Medicine Clerkship, associated with the Neighborhood Health Hub program, a collaborative effort between the UICOMR and the African American Resource Center, located at 524 Kent Street in Rockford.

Clerkship Overview

Developed by Dr. Aarohi Munshi with support from the Department of Family and Community Medicine, this clerkship enables students to engage directly with the community through vital services. The primary goal is to educate students about the challenges under-resourced populations face and the importance of accessible healthcare.

Key Objectives

During this experience, medical students will:

Student Responsibilities

Students can work closely with the clinic's preceptor, conducting thorough medical evaluations. Their responsibilities will include:

Volunteer and Community Involvement

Only UICOMR medical students and resident physicians can engage in direct patient care activities, such as taking vitals, collecting medical histories and conducting medication reconciliations. However, other volunteers are welcome to assist with check-in, manage educational stations, support the clinic's flow and guide individuals around the site. All community residents are invited to participate in this vital initiative, helping to build a healthier Rockford through collaborative efforts and ongoing education.

Screening Schedule

Health screenings will occur every six weeks to align with the clerkship block rotation. During these sessions, students will be supervised by a clinical faculty physician from UIC. Since November, there have been two Neighborhood Health Screening Events at the Booker Washington Community Center, with the upcoming tentatively scheduled for Monday, April 21, 2025.

Thank you for supporting the promotion of health and the advancement of health equity within our community! Stay tuned for more updates on this impactful program.

Department of Family and Community Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford
1601 Parkview Ave., Rockford, IL 61107
email: lburkart@uic.edu
web: rockford.medicine.uic.edu