Duke-NUS MD clerkship course details

The Medicine clerkship is an eight-week program that provides our students with education in general internal medicine. In this clerkship, students will learn the approach, diagnosis and management of a general internal medicine patient and gain first-hand experience in real-life patient encounters, enabling them to acquire holistic patient management. Students will perform the role of junior intern in daily clinical work, which include attending the ward rounds to present the cases to consultants and other team members. Bedside tutorials are also arranged to help students improve basic clinical skills (e.g. history taking, physical examination, case analysis). By the end of this clerkship, students will have a broad exposure of general internal medicine patients.

The Neurology clerkship is a four-week program that introduces our students to the principles and skills to recognize, diagnose and manage common neurological diseases. Students will get to observe lumbar punctures and other neurodiagnostic procedures such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and neurosonology (U/S carotids, TCDs).

By the end of this clerkship, students will acquire the clinical skills required to take a complete history and perform a focused neurological examination. They will also be able to recognize symptoms of neurological diseases, formulate plan for evaluation and diagnosis, and manage neurological emergencies.

The Obstetrics and Gynaecology clerkship is a six-week program that serves as an introduction to the delivery of comprehensive medical care and counselling services to female patients from menarche to menopause and beyond, with a primary focus on common obstetrical and gynaecology problems. This clerkship will provide students with a basic knowledge of obstetrical and gynaecological conditions that is necessary for good practice in any medical field.

The Paediatrics clerkship is an eight-week program that introduces our students to the core topics and skills essential in the basic practice of pediatrics medicine. This clerkship will provide students with experience in inpatient and ambulatory settings. Students will be posted to paediatric medicine general ward, high dependency area and special care newborn nursery area in the neonatology department for inpatient paediatrics experience. Students will also work in general referral outpatient clinics, specialist outpatient clinics and children’s emergency department for an exposure to ambulatory paediatrics.

The Psychiatry clerkship is a four-week program that provides our students with a foundation of psychiatric knowledge and clinical skills needed to competently assess and manage patients with psychiatric problems. This includes clinical evaluation, differential diagnosis, recognition of emergencies and other problems requiring urgent or non-urgent psychiatric referral, and treatment of problems that can be managed appropriately by a non-psychiatric physician. Students will also learn to utilize the biopsychosocial model in the management of psychiatric patients.

The Surgery clerkship is an eight-week program that introduces our students to a variety of general surgical conditions. In this program, students will also learn the communication skills necessary to contribute as a responsible and safe member of the surgical team.  Students will have the opportunity to rotate through A & E department, intensive care or high-dependency units, clinics, clinical wards, and operating theatres during the clerkship.