Student Faculty Patient Simulator

Medical College of Wisconsin Family and Community Medicine - Medical Student Education

Welcome to the Division of Medical Student Education for the Department of Family and Community Medicine! We are committed to teaching and representing the principles of Family Medicine in our courses and student enrichment opportunities.

Overview

For more information on any of these opportunities, please contact Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, at lruffalo@mcw.edu or (414) 955-8710.
Learning Communities

Learning Communities

Learning communities are “intentional communities” that engage students and faculty to enhance learning through a common purpose, similar interests and learning experiences.

Our “student-type” Family Medicine Learning Community is focused on:

  1. Fostering interest in Family Medicine through mentoring opportunities
  2. Social activities and networking functions

Successful learning communities are collaborative. The faculty and staff in the DFCM Medical Student Education Division are dedicated to working with MCW student organizations and individual students to foster student connection, excellence, learning, leadership, and service.

FMLC Goal

FMLC Goal

The goal of our Family Medicine Learning Community (FMLC) is to foster student connection, excellence, learning, leadership and service in primary care and Family Medicine. The FMLC brings together students interested in Family Medicine across all four years of medical school with MCW Family Medicine faculty, residents and community family physicians. The objectives of the FMLC are to:

  • Encourage students to explore the dynamic field of Family Medicine through formal and informal activities, working closely with each other and Family Physician mentors/advisors.
  • Promote the balance of basic science knowledge with primary care competencies and decision-making skills through active learning.
  • Support students in their professional development regardless of their ultimate specialty choice.
FMLC Opportunities and Activities

FMLC Opportunities and Activities

Below is a list of FMLC Opportunities:

  • FMLC Saturday Free Clinic (two or three times a year, the Saturday Free clinic is staffed primarily by FMLC students and faculty)
  • Service Learning; many of these opportunities are provided through MCW’s National Award-winning Family Medicine Student Association (FMSA). FMSA is a student-run organization that coordinates a number of worthwhile important community projects (including Tars Wars, Health Room Helper, Ready Set Fit, and Homeless Clinic). The DFCM provides a faculty liaison and staff support.
  • Evidence-Based Medicine Journal Club
  • Special Olympics Physical Day
  • Social events, including the annual Helfaer Field softball game
  • Pathway support, for projects with a Primary Care/Family Medicine emphasis
  • Pathway support for literature reviews on topics important to primary care
FMLC Mentoring Network

FMLC Mentoring Network

The Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty are very eager to provide mentorship to students. Two ways that we do that are:

Pathway and Research Mentorship
Family and Community Medicine faculty mentor many students across all the MCW Pathways. Faculty also mentor summer research projects as well as offer two research electives. Students are invited to explore the Faculty Collaboration Database (link) to identify areas of faculty interest and reach out to faculty with shared interests. Depending on your pathway, your pathway directors may have additional recommendations of specific family medicine faculty with active projects.

Career Mentorship
We enjoy opportunities to share the exciting field of family medicine with you. Whether you are currently early in your specialty choice exploration and want to learn more about family medicine, or whether you have made the (fantastic) choice to apply to a family medicine residency and need mentorship in your application process, we are here for you. For students in their third year of medical school selecting their clinical advisor, please use the form below and we would be thrilled to match you with a clinical advisor to help you design your fourth-year schedule and provide mentorship through the residency application process. We are very excited to meet you!

We are always exploring new ways to bring faculty, staff, residents, and students together, so please fill out our Family Medicine Interest Form to receive information about upcoming events.

If you interested in meeting with a family medicine faculty member, please fill out the career mentorship form.

Meet Our Team

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Faculty

Rebecca Bernstein, MD, MS
Associate Professor
Co-Director, Division of Medical Student Education
Co-Director, Urban and Community Health Pathway
Thread Developer, MCWfusion Curriculum Health Equity Thread
Residency Faculty at Ascension All Saints Family Medicine Residency
rbernstein@mcw.edu | (414) 955-8825

Leslie Ruffalo, PhD, MS
Associate Professor
Co-Director, Division of Medical Student Education
Co-Director, Continuous Professional Development Course
Director, MCWfusion Curriculum Spiral Weeks (Phase 2 & 3)
Elective Course Director: Promoting Health in Structurally Marginalized Communities
lruffalo@mcw.edu | (414) 955-8710

Sabina Diehr, MD
Associate Professor
M3 Clerkship Site Coordinator, Tosa Health Center
Director, Home and HAPI Project
sdiehr@mcw.edu | (414) 955-8875

Lauren Bauer Maher, MD
Assistant Professor
Faculty Liaison, Family Medicine Student Association
Elective Course Director: Family Medicine Medley
Residency Faculty at Ascension All Saints Family Medicine Residency
lmbauer@mcw.edu | (414) 955-4728

John Hayes, DO
Assistant Professor
Director, M3 Family Medicine Clerkship
MCWfusion Curriculum Phase 2 Director
Elective Course Director: Mastering the Difficult Conversation
Residency Faculty at the Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Family Medicine Residency
jrhayes@mcw.edu | (414) 955-8252

Bryan Johnston, MD
Assistant Professor
Elective Course Director: Health Policy, Family Medicine as Counterculture Medicine
Residency Faculty at Ascension All Saints Family Medicine Residency
bjohnston@mcw.edu | (414) 955-4318

Staff

Stephanie Shaw, MSM, MBA
Program Manager, Division of Medical Student Education
sshaw@mcw.edu | (414) 955-8207

Jenny Her, BA
Education Program Coordinator II, M-3 Family Medicine Clerkship
jher@mcw.edu | (414) 955-4318

Laura Johnson
Quality Analyst II, Elective Program Coordinator
ljohnson@mcw.edu | (414) 955-8497

Family Medicine and Pathways

The goal of faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at MCW is to provide Pathway students with early clinical opportunities/experiences to explore the exciting and diverse possibilities of Family Medicine/Primary Care. Direct patient care experiences, seminar series and service learning opportunities through-out the year provide ways to connect the basic sciences and the clinical environment while helping you meet pathway requirements for monthly non-core hours.

Family Medicine Faculty are involved in all nine MCW pathways. Students with an interest in primary care generally will choose a primary care faculty advisor since experiences will likely emphasize primary care concepts; however, Family Medicine faculty welcome all students as pathway advisees, regardless of career interest.

If you are interested in a Family Medicine advisor for your pathway, it is best to contact faculty advisor, Leslie Ruffalo, lruffalo@mcw.edu. She can help match you to an appropriate Family Medicine faculty member, based on your interests. Students in any pathway, with any faculty advisor from any department, are welcome to join us and participate in the FMLC.

Contact Us

Family Advisor for the Family Medicine Learning Community (FMLC): Leslie Ruffalo, PhD
(414) 955-8710 or (414) 955-4333 | lruffalo@mcw.edu

Required Family Medicine Clerkship

Welcome to MCW’s Family Medicine Clerkship. This four-week required clerkship gives all students a chance to experience family medicine, primarily in an office setting. There, under the guidance of superb community family physicians, family medicine faculty physicians or family medicine residents, students see the broadest possible range of patients, learn and practice real-world management of common medical problems, and discover the satisfactions of family medicine. At the same time, students learn the core primary care skills that no other rotation can provide so comprehensively.
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Clerkship Goals

The overall goal of the Family Medicine Clerkship is to provide an outstanding learning experience for all medical students. In addition, the Family Medicine Clerkship should:

  • Demonstrate the unequivocal value of primary care as an integral part of any health care system
  • Teach an approach to the evaluation and initial management of acute presentations commonly seen in the office setting
  • Teach an approach to the management of chronic illnesses that are commonly seen in the office setting
  • Teach an approach to conduct a wellness visit for a patient of any age or gender
  • Model the principles of family medicine care
  • Provide instruction in communication, physical exam, assessment, and clinical reasoning skills
Clerkship Learning Objectives

The Discovery Curriculum is competency-based and linked to previously approved MCW Global Competencies. Upon completion of this unit, a student will be able to:

Patient Care

  • Gather information, formulate differential diagnoses, and propose plans for the initial evaluation and management of patients with common presentations in the office setting.
  • Manage follow-up visits with patients having one or more common chronic diseases in the office setting.
  • Demonstrate competency in advanced elicitation of history, communication, physical examination, and clinical reasoning skills.
  • Integrate socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors into patient care.

Knowledge for Practice

  • Recognize symptoms, signs, and differential diagnoses of common acute and chronic illnesses as they present in primary care.
  • Develop evidence-based diagnostic and management plans for common acute and chronic illnesses.
  • Develop evidence-based health promotion/disease prevention plans for patients of any age or gender.
  • Integrate population factors of heritage, environment, and disease prevalence into patient care.

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

  • Develop proficiency in efficiently assessing and using computer-based resources for improving patient care.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

  • Demonstrate skills in motivational interviewing.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in patient education for acute and chronic conditions.
  • Tailor clinical communication to the appropriate health literacy level of the patient.

Systems-Based Practice

  • Discuss the principles of family medicine care.
  • Discuss the critical role of family physicians within any health care system.

Interprofessional Collaboration

  • Identify the role of family physicians and other members of the health care team in the Interdisciplinary/Medical Home model of comprehensive, personalized care.

Personal and Professional Development

  • Promote professional self-awareness and self-care. Demonstrate and promote emotional development thru critical reflection on clinical stories.

Professionalism

  • Demonstrate a basic understanding of the professional and ethical issues facing family physicians.
  • Continuous effort at striving to fulfill expectations of the patients, colleagues, and members of the healthcare team.
Clerkship Orientation

Milwaukee
At the start of each 4-week block, the Family Medicine Clerkship begins with an orientation. The orientation is held virtually, and a link will be provided prior to the start. Orientation is generally the first Monday of the rotation and normally begins at 9:00 am. Attendance at orientation is mandatory and you should always be professional.

Green Bay
Each block of the Family Medicine clerkship begins with an orientation, which will be given via Zoom by the Clerkship Director. Your Green Bay coordinator will notify you with a link and time to report.

Clinical Site Orientation
For all sites, we will work with your site coordinator and/or your preceptor and coordinate the schedule at that practice site and the schedule with other physicians at that site. The physician’s office staff at the clinical practice site will provide an orientation to the practice, to the office staff, to other physicians, and to that practice's schedule.

Rotation Sites Assignments

All students will be assigned to a clinical practice with a family physician who will be their site preceptor. Sites include:

  1. Family Medicine Residency Program sites affiliated with the MCW Department of Family and Community Medicine. Specific sites include Columbia-St. Mary’s Family Health Center, All Saints Family Health Center, Town Hall Health Center, and the Fox Valley/Appleton Family Health Center.
  2. Other select non-MCW Family Medicine Residency Program sites.
  3. Froedtert & MCW primary care clinics.
  4. Southeastern (SE) Wisconsin community family physicians or family physician groups that volunteer to have students in their office.
  5. State of Wisconsin “rural” practice sites, outside of SE Wisconsin, for select 4-week blocks, based on availability. Students can choose a rural site. For some 4-week blocks students will be assigned to a rural practice.

Students will receive an email to rank site placement about 60 days to the start of their rotation. Request from students to any of the above locations are considered and when possible accommodated. Students will be notified of the clinical practice assignments in advance by the clerkship coordinator. Clinical site placement is managed by our program manager. All students will be assigned to a clinical practice with a volunteer community family physician (or group).

Clerkship Sites

M3 Family Medicine Clerkship Sites

All Saints Family Medicine Residency Program
2400 W. Villard Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53209

Columbia St. Mary's Family Medicine Residency Program
 1121 E. North Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Columbia St. Mary's Family Practice Associates Cedarburg
W62 N179 Washington Ave.
Cedarburg, WI 53012

Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program
W180 N8000 Town Hall Rd.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051

Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency Program
229 S. Morrison St.
Appleton, WI 54911

Froedtert – Tosa Health Center
1155 N. Mayfair Rd., Suite A
Wauwatosa, WI 53226

Waukesha Family Medicine Program
210 NW Barstow St., Suite 201
Waukesha, WI 53188

M3 & M4 Electives

The Department of Family & Community Medicine offers a variety of electives that exposes students to real life experiences and gives them the training and knowledge to a wide introduction of family medicine. Please visit the course catalog for current offered family medicine courses.

Electives are offered by the Department of Family and Community Medicine to medical students. Contact the Registrar's Office at (414) 955-8873 for more details.

To view the M4 course catalog, you must sign into OASIS. Additional information is available on the Registrar's website.

Electives Offered

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FMED-M4226 - Promoting Health in Underserved Communities
Family & Community Medicine
MCW – Hub for Collaborative Medicine A2360-3
Faculty Director: Leslie Ruffalo, PhD / Marie Wolff, PhD
Course Coordinator: Carletta Rhodes
MED-M4110 - Community Health in Zambia
Columbia St. Mary’s Family Health Center
1121 E. North Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Faculty Director - James Sanders, MD
Course Coordinator: Tifany Frazer
MED-M4112 - Family Medicine Elective at Fox Valley Residency
Mosiac Family Health
229 S. Morrison St.
Appleton, WI 54911
Faculty Director: Alan Last, MD
Course Coordinator: Erin Knight
MED-M4114 - Rural Ambulatory Medicine
Contact Faculty for Exact Time & Location
Marsho Clinic
Sheboygan, WI
Faculty Director: Larry Duenk, MD
Course Coordinator: Cheryl Schaefer
MED-M4115 - Sports Medicine-Primary Care
Contact Faculty for Exact Time & Location
(414) 805-7463 or (414) 955-3217
Faculty Director: Craig Young, MD
Course Coordinator: Amy Peters
MED-M4116 - Women's Health: Family-Centered Care Emphasizing OB
Columbia St. Mary’s Family Health Center
1121 E. North Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Faculty Director: Paul Koch, MD
Course Coordinator: Cheryl Schaefer
MED-M4305 - Academic Family Medicine and Community-Based Research
Department of Family & Community Medicine
MCW – Hub for Collaborative Medicine A2340-5
Faculty Director: Linda N. Meurer, MD, MPH
Course Coordinator: Karen Krause
MED-M4408 - Doctor/Patient Relationship from Patient/Provider Perspective
Department of Family & Community Medicine
MCW – Hub for Collaborative Medicine A2340-5
Faculty Director: Richard Holloway, PhD
Course Coordinator: Karen Krause
MED-M4420 - Health Policy and Advocacy for Physicians
Dept. of Family & Community Medicine
MCW – Hub for Collaborative Medicine A2324
Faculty Director: Alan K. David, MD
Course Coordinator: Veronica Ruleford

M4 Required Acting internships and Ambulatory Rotations

During the Acting Internship rotations students will spend four weeks completing a rigorous hospital-based experience supervised and working closely with Family Medicine faculty and residents. Students will manage the short-term needs of acutely sick patients, diagnose, and implement plan of care and therapy based on assessment. Students will see patients independently and receive direct observation and feedback.

Please visit the course catalog to see M4 required family medicine course offerings.

Required Internships & Rotations

These courses are offered by the Department of Family and Community Medicine to senior medical students. Contact the Registrar's Office at (414) 955-8873 for more details. To view the M4 course catalog, you must sign into MCWConnect. Additional information is available on the Registrar's website.
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FMED-D4502 - Family Medicine Acting Internship at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital

Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital
2301 N. Lake Dr., Room 4208
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Director: Jahanvi Kothari, MD
Course Coordinator: Varonica Williams

FMED-M4504 - Family Medicine Acting Internship at Froedtert Menomonee Falls

Froedtert Menomonee Falls
W180 N8085 Town Hall Rd.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
Director: Camdin Gray, MD
Course Coordinator: Amy Matenaer

FMED-D4510 - Family Medicine Acting Internship at Waukesha Memorial Hospital

Waukesha Memorial Hospital
725 American Ave.
Waukesha, WI 53188
Director: Maureen Longeway, MD
Course Coordinator: Diane Behling

FMED-D4512 - Family Medicine Acting Internship at St. Joseph Hospital

St. Joseph Hospital
5000 W. Chambers Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53210
Director: Laura Brusky, MD
Course Coordinator: Staci Huber

FMED-D4903 - Family Medicine Ambulatory Rotation

Columbia St. Mary’s Family Health Center
1121 E. North Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Director: Seth Bodden, MD
Course Coordinator: Varonica Williams

Visiting Senior Medical Students

MCW’s Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) welcomes visiting U.S. senior medical students to register for our fourth-year electives. All electives are four weeks. The following electives will be posted to the VSLO (Visiting Student Learning Opportunities) platform in January 2023:

  • Community Engagement with Structurally Marginalized Communities
  • Family Medicine Medley
  • Family Medicine as Counterculture
  • Mastering Difficult Conversations
  • Sports Medicine in Primary Care
  • Women’s Health-Family Centered
  • FM Elective

Learn more about visiting student offerings.

For more information about our visiting elective opportunities, please contact Stephanie Shaw (sshaw@mcw.edu).