SCHOOL OF 2012-2013 - St. George's University

School of Medicine
Course Descriptions
of commonly used psychotropic drugs. They will become
familiar with the major psychiatric syndromes in children
and adolescents, as well as with the effects on the child/
adolescent/family of the life-disrupting syndromes of child
abuse and substance abuse. Students will learn detection
and treatment of these syndromes, as well as how to evaluate
and manage psychiatric emergencies. The goal is for
students to feel more comfortable with psychiatric patients,
and, ultimately, possess an understanding of biological,
psychological, and social determinant behavior. Students
must fully work up at least one patient a week. The history
and mental status examination are presented to the preceptor
and the case is discussed. Students must follow each patient’s
progress throughout the duration of the rotation. Students
must attend ward rounds and outpatient sessions.
Attendance will be expected at case conferences and
seminars. Special experiences are recommended. These
include attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings
and visits to local mental health facilities, county, and/or
state hospitals, addiction programs, and any other special
programs in the vicinity of the hospital. Observation and
participation in group therapy, pre-discharge, and postdischarge
group management are required.
Pediatrics
Phyllis Weiner, MD, Chair
The goal of the rotation in pediatrics is to allow students to
acquire the basic knowledge of the normal physical, mental,
and emotional development of children. Students learn
how this development is influenced by medical, social, and
educational factors, as well as understand the common
disorders and diseases of childhood, especially their
diagnosis, management, and prevention. Students will be
taught to be aware of the special needs of the newborn, the
handicapped child, and the adolescent. An integral part
of the rotation is the opportunity to acquire the necessary
skills of taking a pediatric history, to examine children of all
ages, and to acquire experience in evaluating the essential
clinical information so that a coherent plan of management
can be formulated and explained to the parents and, as
appropriate, to the child. Students learn to appreciate the
value of a confident but sympathetic approach to the child
and the family while recognizing and accepting the limits
of that unit’s expectations and understanding. Student
reading is structured during the six weeks so that they
first become acquainted with the normal child and then
learn history taking and physical examination, reactions
of children to illness and hospitalization, the principles of
infant feeding, and fluid and drug therapy.
Emergency Medicine
Theodore Gaeta, DO, MPH, Chair
The goal of the rotation in emergency medicine is to
teach medical students the necessary skills to take care
of patients with a wide variety of undifferentiated urgent
and emergent conditions. Students learn how to approach
patients with common and potentially life-threatening
complaints (such as chest pain, headache, abdominal pain,
and many others). Emphasis is placed on teaching how
to develop a working differential diagnosis and how to
appropriately narrow it. During the rotation, students have
the opportunity to gain proficiency in rapidly collecting
data and performing focused physical examinations
appropriate for the acutely or emergently ill patient.
Students function as an effective and essential part of
the emergency medical team in the patient assessment,
stabilization, and management of a variety of acute medical
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