Course Catalog » Course Listing for Family & Community Medicine

110  FCM Core Clerkship  (0.5 - 2.5 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): E. Brode, B. Wan Fahimi       Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of a pre-core clerkship medical student curriculum (Essential Core, Foundations 1 or Joint Medical Program)

Restrictions: Medical student       Activities: Direct - Independent Study, Asynchronous - Independent Study

A required core clerkship in Family Medicine where students learn to provide primary care in an outpatient setting. Under supervision and with instruction, students perform ambulatory visits for chronic care, acute care and preventive care.

130.01  CIEx - Outpatient Family Medicine Apprenticeship  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Students must have completed at least 4 sessions of FAM CM MED 110 and either OB GYN R S 110 or MEDICINE 110 clerkship. Students must have a strong interest in primary care.

Restrictions: Medical Students in Foundations 2       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

This is a Bridges Curriculum Clinical Immersive Experience (CIEx), which provide medical students in Foundations 2 opportunities to broaden and enhance their professional development in health care settings different from those of their core clerkships. San Francisco Free Clinic provides free primary care and urgent care for uninsured individuals in San Francisco. Students will work with family physicians and general internists to provide ambulatory care to primarily adult patients.

130.02  CIEx - Family Medicine with Maternity Care  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Nothnagle       Prerequisite(s): Student must be in good academic standing and have an interest in a family and community medicine experience.

Restrictions: Foundations 2 students       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

This is a Bridges Curriculum Clinical Immersive Experience (CIEx), which provide medical students in Foundations 2 opportunities to broaden and enhance their professional development in health care settings different from those of their core clerkships. In this course, students will engage in family practice with a specific emphasis on maternity care.

130.03  CIEx - Women's Health and HIV Care in Family Medicine  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): L. Pollock       Prerequisite(s): Strong career interest in Family Medicine. Must have completed at least four FAM CM MED 110 clinic sessions

Restrictions: Medical Students in Foundations 2       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

This is a Bridges Curriculum Clinical Immersive Experience (CIEx), which provide medical students in Foundations 2 opportunities to broaden and enhance their professional development in health care settings different from those of their core clerkships. Students will gain experience in the family medicine approach to HIV care and prevention among women. Students will work in the Women's HIV Program at Parnassus, the Family HIV Clinic at ZSFG, and the National Clinical Consultation Call Center.

130.23  CIEx- Palliative Care - Fresno  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): D. Gurusinghe       Prerequisite(s): All UCSF students must contact Linda Alvarez for enrollment (Armelinda.Alvarez@ucsf.edu) to initiate CIEx process at Fresno.

Restrictions: must be 3rd year students.       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact, Student - Lecture

This is a Bridges Curriculum CIEx, which provides medical students in Foundation 2 opportunities to broaden and enhance their professional development in health care settings different from those of their core clerkships. Students will spend 2 weeks on the inpatient palliative care service at CRMC working with our multidisciplinary team, which includes a supervising physician, a Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellow, nurse, social worker, and Chaplain. Half day in our outpatient CCI, Clovis.

140.04A  Off-Campus Clerkship  (3 - 6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Potter       Prerequisite(s): Completed core clerkships. Written objectives with specific plans. Consent of instructor. Third- or fourth-year medical student standing.

Restrictions: Only medical students. Students must work with a family physician as primary preceptor.       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

Students will work with a family medicine physician in various sites which could include an urban or rural private practice, community based clinic, or the Indian Health Service. Experiences will focus on students area of interest such as community oriented primary care, complementary & alternative medicine, or maternal and child health.

140.04B  Off-Campus Clerkship  (3 - 6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Potter       Prerequisite(s): Completed core clerkships. Written objectives with specific plans. Consent of instructor. Third or fourth year medical student tanding.

Restrictions: Only medical students. Students must work with a family physician as primary preceptor.       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

Students will work with a family medicine physician in various sites which could include an urban or rural private practice, community based clinic, or the Indian Health Service. Experiences will focus on students area of interest such as community oriented primary care, complementary & alternative medicine or maternal and child health.

140.10  Advocacy Medicine  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Renneker, E. Jamison       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted to 4th year medical students (but on special request, could include a 3rd year student, including from the UC Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program)       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

A 2 week block elective for medical students to gain family medicine-based advocacy experience and clinical research skills. This curriculum will better equip them to help patients and families dealing with complex and life-threatening conditions who are seeking optimum care, or care that falls outside what is provided by standard medical practices.

140.16  Care of Adolescents & Adults with Developmental Disabilities  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): C. Kripke       Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of 3rd year predoctoral medical coursework.

Restrictions: UCSF Students only; 4th year predoctoral medical students.       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

UCSF Students will be mentored by a clinician who provides care to medically fragile patients with developmental disabilities in the community. Services will be delivered in a number of settings, including group homes, clinics, and community sites. Students will partner with a community agency and self advocates to complete a health promotion or resource development project. Participants will develop skills in working with teams. Activities and placements will be designed based on interests.

140.17  PRIME-US Capstone Course  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Hahn, H. Hervey-Jumper       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: This course is restricted to students in their final year of the PRIME-US program.       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Direct - Seminar, Direct - Project, Student - Lecture, Student - Seminar, Student - Project

Students taking this course will review the core principles and practices of underserved care, acquire new leadership skills, and work together on community-based projects. As the culminating curriculum for PRIME-US, this course provides students with an opportunity to reconnect with their peers, renew their commitment to underserved care, and build a foundation for future leadership roles.

140.30  Advanced Ambulatory Care Clerkship  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): FAM CM MED 110, PEDIATRICS 110, OB GYN R S 110

Restrictions: Must have basic skills in providing primary care and preventive care in an outpatient setting.       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

In this advanced elective in Family Medicine, students function as interns and assume a high level of responsibility in providing primary, preventive and acute care in an outpatient setting.

140.35  Advanced Ambulatory Care Clerkship - SF Free Clinic  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): MEDICINE 110, OB GYN R S 110, six months minimum of longitudinal FAM CM MED 110

Restrictions: None.       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

In this advanced elective in Family Medicine, students assume a high level of responsibility in providing primary, preventive, and acute care in an outpatient setting at San Francisco Free Clinic.

140.40  Advanced Inpatient Clerkship  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Stafford       Prerequisite(s): MEDICINE 110. For students who have done a longitudinal third-year curriculum (e.g., PISCES, KLIC), we strongly recommend completing an inpatient consult month (1B) before starting FAM CM MED 140.40. If you have specific questions about your level of preparation for this rotation, please contact Dr Margo Vener.

Restrictions: To enroll in this course, you must also have contacted Dr Vener and let her know that you are considering Family Medicine residency.       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

The Family Medicine Inpatient Service at SFGH employs a family medicine approach to the care of hospitalized adult patients with diverse medical problems. Students function as members of the multidisciplinary inpatient team at a junior intern level. Students review their patients with the attending daily. Teaching rounds are held daily and include weekly behavioral science and radiology rounds in addition to interactive small group teaching on core inpatient medicine topics.

140.45  Integrative Approaches to End-of-Life Care  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): S. Adler       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: This course is intended for 4th year medical students, but is open to any student at UCSF. Please contact course coordinator for details.       Activities: Direct - Project, Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

This elective takes an integrative and interprofessional approach to relationship-centered EOL care, cross-cultural understandings of death, and the spiritual dimension of dying. Highlights include didactic and experiential core seminars, presentations by EOL care providers, hospice visits, and the exploration of personal understandings and transformational opportunities of EOL care through the discussion of literature, writing, and reflection. (ENROLLMENT MINIMUM: 15 STUDENTS)

140.50  Advanced Ambulatory Care Clerkship - Fresno  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): J. Ruvalcaba       Prerequisite(s): Third Year FM Course

Restrictions: none       Activities: Direct - Conference, Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

In this advanced ambulatory care elective, students work alongside UCSF-Fresno FCM faculty and residents in a busy primary care clinic. They are expected to function at the level of an intern while providing acute, chronic, and preventative care.

140.53  Inpatient Medicine/Family Medicine - Fresno  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): S. Reddy       Prerequisite(s): MEDICINE 110, FAM CM MED 110, fourth-year standing

Restrictions: none       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

In this inpatient rotation, students function as junior interns on the teaching service at Community Regional Medical Center in Downtown Fresno. Students will work alongside UCSF-Fresno Family & Community Medicine residents and faculty. This rotation includes taking call with the residents, attending patient rounds, and attending weekly didactic sessions.

140.55  Palliative Care Medicine - Fresno  (6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): D. Gurusinghe       Prerequisite(s): n/a

Restrictions: Must be a 4th year medical student.       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact, Student - Lecture

This 4 week elective will focus on the care of patients with serious, chronic and terminal illness emphasizing symptom management, communication, ethical issues and psychosocial support of patients and their families. Students will spend time with the interdisciplinary palliative care team made up of an attending physician, nurse specialist, social worker, and chaplain.

140.55A  Palliative Care Experience - Fresno  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): D. Gurusinghe       Prerequisite(s): n/a

Restrictions: Must be a 4th year medical student.       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact, Student - Lecture

This 2 week elective will focus on the care of patients with serious, chronic and terminal illness emphasizing symptom management, communication, ethical issues and psychosocial support of patients and their families. Students will spend time with the interdisciplinary palliative care team made up of an attending physician, nurse specialist, social worker, and chaplain.

140.70  Community Medicine in International Perspective  (6 - 9 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): N. Hearst, M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: None       Activities: Field Work

A 4-6 week elective involving placement at a supervised clinical or public health training and/or service site abroad.

140.76  Women's Health and HIV Care in Family Medicine  (3 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): L. Pollock, M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): FAM CM MED 110

Restrictions: 4th year UCSF medical students only       Activities: Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact

This course will provide an opportunity for 4th year medical students to work with family physicians and gain experience in providing health care for women, care for patients with HIV, and care for families where one person or more has HIV.

150.01  Research in Family Medicine  (2 - 16 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Project, Direct - Field Work

Clinical epidemiology, health services, or behavioral science research approaches are applied in the study of selected areas in family medicine or community health.

160.04  Trans and Gender Expansive Health  (1 units)   Winter

Instructor(s): M. Deutsch, A. Cobb-Walch       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

This course introduces students to health challenges faced by transgender patients. With an emphasis on primary care considerations, lectures will discuss the components of transgender-inclusive healthcare. Through lecture, discussion, and a patient panel, student will explore: demographics, health disparities, primary care protocols, history of transgender medicine, surgical options, primary care for transgender youth, and critical research questions in transgender health.

170.01A  Special Issues in Health Care  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Explores in systematic (lecture/readings/discussion) format new issues in health care or special content areas related to Family and Community health. Topics are developed and prepared according to faculty-student interests.

170.01B  Special Issues in Health Care  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Explores in systematic (lecture/readings/discussion) format new issues in health care or special content areas related to family and community health. Topics are developed and prepared according to faculty-student interests.

170.01C  Special Issues in Health Care  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Explores in systematic (lecture/readings/discussion) format new issues in health care or special content areas related to family and community health. Topics are developed and prepared according to faculty-student interests.

170.01D  Special Issues in Health Care  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Explores in systematic (lecture/readings/discussion) format new issues in health care or special content areas related to family and community health. Topics are developed and prepared according to faculty-student interests.

170.01E  Special Issues in Health Care  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Explores in systematic (lecture/readings/discussion) format new issues in health care or special content areas related to family and community health. Topics are developed and prepared according to faculty-student interests.

170.02  Compassionate Care: The Art of Healing Communication  (1 units)   Fall

Instructor(s): S. Khayam-Bashi, T. McNalley       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: First & second year students in all Schools are welcome: Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Physical Therapy       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Guest speakers will share lectures, stories, clinical pearls, and personal experiences to promote discussions for deeper understanding & skill-building in communication, engagement, compassion and connection with patients. Topics may include: empathic listening; tips for communicating with compassion; using the BATHE technique in challenging dialogues; patient stories as narrative experiences; medical humanities; spirituality; grief and loss; mindful presence; Impostor Syndrome; and more.

170.03  Topics in Primary Care  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: Open to students in the schools of medicine or nursing.       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Students will engage in discussion with speakers on various primary care topics including a day in the life of a primary care physician, women’s health, HIV care, care of vulnerable patient populations, etc. The course will follow a lecture/discussion format with presentations by visiting speakers followed by group discussion.

170.04  Disability and Chronic Disease Advocacy  (1 units)   Fall

Instructor(s): C. Kripke       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

This course, created entirely by UCSF students and health care providers who themselves identify as having a disability or chronic illness, will increase awareness and support of disability and chronic illness on UCSF campuses, and take this learning forward into each student’s clinical practices.

170.06  Program in Med. Educ. for the Urban Underserved - PRIME-US  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): H. Hervey-Jumper, M. Hahn       Prerequisite(s): Admission to PRIME-US

Restrictions: Only PRIME-US students       Activities: Direct - Seminar, Student - Seminar

FCM 170.06 is a required elective for PRIME-US students that is taken a minimum of four times by each PRIME-US@UCSF student during the fall, winter, and spring of the first year of medical school and the fall of the second year of medical school and five times for PRIME-US@JMP students (times listed above and additional spring of second year.) Additionally, PRIME-US@JMP students and PRIME-US@UCSF students may take FCM170.06 again during Career Launch, at the discretion of the course director.

170.08  Complementary Paths of Healing  (1 units)   Fall

Instructor(s): A. Dhruva       Prerequisite(s): None.

Restrictions: None.       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

This introductory 1 unit P/NP course is open to all UCSF students and explores the general theory and practice of several widely utilized non-allopathic healing modalities with the aim of demonstrating how these therapies can be complementary to modern biomedicine. This is a student run elective that is held once annually, please check the SOM undergraduate electives page to verify when the course will be held: http://meded.ucsf.edu/ume/first-and-second-year-electives

170.10A  Houselessness and Health Inequities  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): E. Brode, W. Shore, J. Bamberger, M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): N/A

Restrictions: N/A       Activities: Direct - Seminar, Direct - Clinical Experience/Patient Contact, Student - Seminar

A survey course covering the broad spectrum of living issues (health care, drug addiction, HIV, shelter life, etc.) confronting the homeless population of San Francisco. The course will consist of work at a Homeless Shelter, with half the time in group discussion/seminar and half the time doing clinical work with patients at a shelter.

170.20  Engaging Communities in Health Outcomes (ECHO)  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Tapia       Prerequisite(s): Only professional students

Restrictions: MD students       Activities: Direct - Field Work, Student - Workshop, Student - Field Work

This course is focused on professional development skills-building in which medical students work directly with Family Resource Centers (FRCs) across San Francisco. This course focuses on community engagement/development as students will make recurrent site visits to the FRCs. During this course, students will co-facilitate at least two Health Coaching sessions, and strategize with colleagues and FRC community partners on how to develop curricular improvements for the following academic year.

170.25  San Joaquin Valley Prog. in Medical Education Seminar Series  (2 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): L. Alving, Y. Tinajero       Prerequisite(s): Admission to San Joaquin Valley PRIME Program

Restrictions: only SJV PRIME students       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Direct - Seminar, Direct - Project, Student - Lecture, Student - Seminar

Students enrolled in this course are part of the SJV PRIME cohort and will participate in a longitudinal seminar series. Seminars will explore and discuss topics related to health disparities in the central San Joaquin valley.

171.01  The Healer's Art  (1.5 units)   Winter, Spring

Course will not be offered in: Winter 2023, Spring 2023

Instructor(s): T. McNalley       Prerequisite(s): 1st & 2nd year medical students.

Restrictions: Medical students only       Activities: Direct - Workshop, Student - Workshop

The Healer’s Art elective, a 15-hour discovery model process offers 1st year medical students the opportunity to bring more of their authentic self to the study and practice of medicine. In both large and small group formats both faculty and students explore time-honored values of service, personal relationships, humanism, reverence for life and compassion.

171.05  Longitudinal Primary Care Elective  (1 units)   Winter, Spring

Course will not be offered in: Winter 2023, Spring 2023

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: 1st year medical students only       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

The Longitudinal Primary Care Elective is an experience in which first year medical students learn about the importance of primary care and continuity relationships. Students discuss the role of primary care and focus on key issues in preventive care. Using primary care cases, students practice essential elements of a primary care visit including: patient interviewing techniques, the hypothesis-driven physical exam, outpatient procedures, closing the loop, patient education and counseling.

171.06  Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health: The Clinician's Role  (1 units)   Fall

Instructor(s): T. Defries, R. Brusca       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

The course will empower students to both understand and act to alleviate the health challenges faced by displaced populations. The elective will host speakers who are leaders in asylum medicine, refugee and immigrant health. Students will learn to conduct forensic medical and psychiatric evaluations of asylum seekers. Students will have the opportunity to apply skills learned during the elective by participating in forensic evaluations in the UCSF Human Rights Collaborative.

171.07  Introduction to Harm Reduction and Addiction Medicine  (1 units)   Fall

Instructor(s): D. Ciccarone       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

This elective explores the principles of harm reduction and the health care and structural challenges among people living with substance use disorders. Our speakers include community stakeholders in the harm reduction movement, health professionals and researchers. Our goal is to help dismantle stigma around drug use and help students recognize substance use disorders as a pressing primary care and public health issue that can be addressed using evidenced-based interventions.

172A  Legal Medicine  (2 units)   Fall

Instructor(s): D. Tennenhouse       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: UCSF health professional students       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Fundamental legal principles and procedures affecting medical practice, with emphasis on medical negligence; the physician's role in the litigation process; the areas of medical practice which most frequently involve litigation; and practical measures to minimize the risk of lawsuit.

172B  Legal Medicine  (2 units)   Winter

Instructor(s): D. Tennenhouse       Prerequisite(s): None

Restrictions: UCSF health professional students       Activities: Direct - Lecture, Student - Lecture

Fundamental legal principles and procedures affecting medical practice, with emphasis on medical negligence; the physician's role in the litigation process; the areas of medical practice which most frequently involve litigation; and practical measures to minimize the risk of lawsuit.

184  Contemporary Issues in Latinx Health  (1 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring

Instructor(s): M. Tapia       Prerequisite(s): Health professional students

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Seminar, Student - Seminar

An introduction to demographic, political/economic, anthropologic and sociologic issues of importance for the health of diverse Latino subcultures in the US.

198  Supervised Study  (1 - 6 units)   Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

Instructor(s): M. Vener       Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Restrictions: None       Activities: Direct - Project, Direct - Independent Study, Student - Project, Student - Independent Study

Library research and directed reading under supervision of a member of the faculty with the approval of the chairperson of the department.