Oral Medicine Clerkship – Spring
Course Director: Rolf Christensen
Credits: 2
Quarters/Yr of Program: Spring / 3
Course Overview
This course, the third in a series of three, provides students with the experience and skills necessary to provide complete dental care, from assessment through treatment, for patients with urgent and emergent oral health issues; developmental or acquired disabilities; chronic or acute orofacial pain; neurosensory, chemosensory or movement disorders; or oral problems caused by treatment of cancer.
Learning Objectives
The student who successfully completes this course will be able to:
1. Communicate effectively with patients of all ages and stages of life and in a culturally sensitive manner with diverse populations including patients with special healthcare needs.
2. Using the patient interview, make an appropriate treatment or management plan applicable to the dental care setting that includes non-dental considerations for patients with special healthcare needs.
3. Assess the structural and functional status of the head, neck, craniofacial, oral, oropharyngeal structures of patients that involve an assessment of orofacial pain, temporomandibular dysfunction, and risks of oral cancer.
4. From a problem list, develop a differential diagnosis and a working diagnosis for each problem that does not have a definitive diagnosis.
5. Compose a comprehensive staged and sequenced treatment plan, customized to the patient’s needs, desires, and financial restrictions, that contemplates non-dental considerations.
6. Demonstrate good practices in case presentation and professional etiquette when consulting and collaborating with other members of the health care team.
7. Effectively communicate with medical, behavioral, or dental specialists when there are problems and issues that require referral.
8. Facilitate the effective diagnosis and management of the patient’s oral and maxillofacial diseases and conditions, by prescribing and evaluating diagnostic radiographic imaging (including CBCT).
9. Identify problems and issues from the problem list that require referral to or collaboration with another health care professional.
10. Collaborate with UW School of Pharmacy students to develop and execute care plans for patients’ pain, infection, dry mouth, and other patient-specific medication-related needs.
11. Demonstrate diagnostic tests that can differentiate between the items on the differential diagnosis list and can verify the correct diagnosis.
UWSOD Competencies: C-01, C-10, CE-02, CE-03, C-03, CE-06, C-02, C-09, C-06, C-05, C-11, C-30, C-12, C-13, C-31, C-16, C-29, C-17, CE-04, C-14, C-28, C-04, C-08, C-15, C18, C-24, C-25, C-26, C-19, C-21, C-22, C-23, C-27
Date last updated: 2024-03-21