Medical Student Education | Family and Community Medicine

黑料官网 Family and Community Medicine Medical Student Education

Welcome to the Division of Medical Student Education in 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.

Message from the Director of Medical Student Education

Jahanvi Patel Kothari, DO, FAAFP At the Department of Family and Community Medicine, medical student education is not simply a responsibility, but rather it is a core expression of who we are and what we value. We believe that investing in the development of future physicians is essential to the health of our communities and the strength of our healthcare system.

Primary care serves as the foundation of effective, equitable, and patient-centered care. It is where relationships are built, prevention is prioritized, and whole-person care comes to life. For those who choose careers in family medicine and other primary care fields, we are proud to provide early, meaningful exposure that highlights the impact, versatility, and deep fulfillment of this work. We are equally committed to inspiring students to see primary care not just as a specialty, but as a mindset, one that emphasizes continuity, compassion, and connection.

At the same time, we recognize that our role extends beyond shaping future primary care physicians. Every medical student who learns within our department, regardless of their eventual specialty, benefits from a strong foundation in communication, clinical reasoning, and patient-centered care. These are the skills that define excellent physicians in every field, and we are dedicated to teaching them with intention and care.

Our faculty are deeply committed educators who view teaching as both a privilege and a professional obligation. We strive to create a supportive, engaging learning environment where students feel welcomed, challenged, and inspired to grow. By modeling curiosity, humility, and lifelong learning, we aim to prepare students not only for residency, but for meaningful, impactful careers in medicine.

Medical education is central to our mission. By fostering early interest in primary care while equipping all students with essential clinical skills and values, we are dedicated to helping shape a future physician workforce that is compassionate, skilled, and responsive to the needs of the communities we serve.

Jahanvi Patel Kothari, DO, FAAFP
Division Director of Medical Student Education
Department of Family and Community Medicine
黑料官网

Career Mentoring Network

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Career Mentorship

We love sharing the exciting field of family medicine with students. Whether you鈥檙e early in your specialty exploration and want to learn more, or you鈥檝e already made the fantastic decision to pursue a family medicine residency and are seeking mentorship, we鈥檙e here to support you every step of the way.

For third year medical students selecting a clinical advisor, please complete the form below. We would be thrilled to match you with a faculty advisor who can help you design your fourth year schedule and guide you through the residency application process.

We鈥檙e also continually exploring new ways to bring faculty, staff, residents, and students together. If you鈥檇 like to stay connected and receive updates about upcoming events, please fill out our Family Medicine Interest Form. We can鈥檛 wait to meet you and support your journey.

Medical Student-Resident Buddy Program

Our Family Medicine Medical Student-Resident Buddy Program is designed to help medical students build meaningful connections with current residents in one of 黑料官网's Family Medicine residency programs.

Through this program, students are paired with a Family Medicine resident who serves as a mentor, guide, and supportive resource. Buddies offer insight into residency life, specialty choice, clinical training, wellness, work-life balance, and what to expect during the transition from medical school to residency.

What the Program Offers

One-on-one mentorship with a current Family Medicine resident
Guidance on residency applications, interviews, and Match preparation
Honest conversations about training, schedules, and life as a resident
Opportunities to ask questions in a supportive, informal setting
Social connection and community within the residency program
Support during the transition from medical student to resident physician

Who Can Participate?
The Buddy Program is open to medical students interested in Family Medicine.

Why It Matters
We believe strong mentorship and community are essential to physician growth and wellness. By connecting students with residents early, we aim to foster supportive relationships, encourage professional development, and help future Family Medicine physicians feel welcomed and prepared.

Get Connected
Interested in being paired with a resident buddy or learning more about our Family Medicine community? Please fill out the following form to be connected with a resident.

Scholarly Concentration and Research Mentorship

Family and Community Medicine faculty mentor many students across all the 黑料官网 Scholarly Concentrations. Faculty also mentor research projects as well as offer several research electives. Depending on your scholarly concentration, your scholarly concentration directors may have additional recommendations of specific family medicine faculty with active projects. If you are interested in connecting with a Family Medicine advisor for your scholarly concentration or to be connected with family medicine-related research, please contact Dr. Leslie Ruffalo (lruffalo@mcw.edu).

Family Medicine Student Association (FMSA)

Our group is dedicated to fostering a community for students interested in the diverse and rewarding field of Family Medicine.

As a group, we are committed to supporting and empowering the next generation of family physicians. Whether you are firmly committed to a career in Family Medicine or simply exploring your interests, FMSA offers the resources, mentorship, and clinical exposure needed to help you grow and thrive.

Join us!

What We Do

Throughout the year, we offer a wide range of opportunities for students to get involved, including social gatherings, speaker events, mentoring and networking activities, community service and volunteer initiatives, as well as clinical shadowing, workshops, and collaborative partnerships.

Our programming is designed to support students at every stage of their journey. We host multiple events focused on preparing for residency applications and interviews, and we facilitate connections with meaningful research opportunities within our communities.

Family Medicine Clerkship

This 14-week required clerkship gives all students the chance to experience Family Medicine and their main opportunity to learn primary care skills. Students work with our expert preceptors one day each week for 14 consecutive weeks. Our students see a broad range of patients, learn and practice real-world management of common medical problems, and embody the role of a Family Physician in the community. In the longitudinal format, they’ll be able to experience continuity of care and can support the care patients receive by calling patients with results and resources, accomplishing population health tasks, embarking on quality improvement initiatives, and otherwise supporting their preceptors, their practice, and patients.

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Clerkship Overview

Students will be assigned to preceptors based on areas or populations of interest and scheduling availability. They will take part in ambulatory Pediatric and Internal Medicine rotations simultaneously with the FM clerkship in the 14-week Ambulatory block. Prior to the Ambulatory block, students will take part in a 2-week Spiral block in which they will be oriented to the rotation and undergo certain fundamental trainings such as ambulatory procedure skills and motivational interviewing. In addition to the clinical-based learning of the FM clerkship, students will participate in 8 team-based learning sessions fundamental to FM and led by expert facilitators.

Clerkship Goals

First and foremost, the Family Medicine Clerkship seeks to provide an outstanding learning experience for all medical students. More specifically, the Family Medicine Clerkship intends to:

Demonstrate the value of primary care as an integral part of any health care system.
Teach an effective approach to the evaluation and initial management of acute presentations commonly seen in the primary care setting.
Teach an effective approach to the management of chronic illnesses that are commonly seen in the primary care setting.
Teach an effective approach to conduct a wellness visit for a patient of any age or gender.
Model the principles of Family Medicine as an effective, evidence-based, holistic, accessible, longitudinal form of primary care.
Support learner development in communication, physical exam, assessment, and clinical reasoning skills.

Clerkship Learning Objectives

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
To occur during spiral week preceding Ambulatory Block.

Green Bay
Each block of the Family Medicine clerkship begins with an orientation with Green Bay site director. Your Green Bay coordinator will notify you further instructions.

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.

Questions? Contact Jenny Her, Education Program Coordinator, at jher@mcw.edu, or Bryan Johnston, Clerkship Director, at bjohnston@mcw.edu.

Rotation Sites Assignments

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

Family Medicine Residency Program sites affiliated with the 黑料官网 Department of Family and Community Medicine. Specific sites include North Side Family Medicine Residency (Outreach Community Health Center), South Side Family Medicine Residency (Forest Home Health Center), and Froedtert Menomonee Falls Family Medicine Residency (Town Hall Health Center).
Other select non-黑料官网 Family Medicine Residency Program sites.
Froedtert & 黑料官网 primary care clinics.
Family Medicine community preceptors.

Students will receive an email to rank subspecialty placement prior 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).

Phase 3 Electives

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

Electives are offered by the Department of Family and Community Medicine to Phase 3 medical students. Contact the Registrar's Office at (414) 955-8873 for more details.

To view the course catalog, you must sign into 黑料官网connect. Additional information is available on the Registrar's website.

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FMED-47200: Health Policy and Advocacy for Physicians

Course Description
Explore how health systems, policy, and advocacy shape patient care. Students learn principles of population health, systems-based practice, and community resources while examining healthcare from multiple perspectives – including hospitals, FQHCs, insurers, and policy makers. Through case-based learning, students develop an advocacy strategy to address a real-world health issue.
Note: Course requires a minimum of 5 students to run.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 Hub for Collaborative Medicine, A2340-4/Hybrid

Faculty Director: David Calawerts, MD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47202: Family Medicine Elective at Fox Valley Residency in Appleton, WI

Course Description
Working alongside family medicine faculty and residents in an outpatient clinic in Appleton, WI, providing continuous, comprehensive care. Students manage patients across wellness and illness, build skills in preventive care and patient education, and develop clinical decision-making for undifferentiated conditions.
Housing available.

Mosaic Family Health

Faculty Director: Megan Everson, MD
Course Coordinator: Jill VandenHeuvel

FMED-47203: Ambulatory Family Medicine at the North Side Family Medicine Residency

Course Description
A hands-on outpatient experience for senior medical students to build skills in family medicine and ambulatory care. Students manage patients across all ages, develop care plans, and gain experience in preventive care, counseling, and clinical documentation under supervision.

Outreach Community Health Center

Director: Seth Bodden, MD
Course Coordinator: Varonica Williams

FMED-47204: Rural Ambulatory Medicine at High Point Family Medicine

Course Description
Experience full-spectrum family medicine in a rural Wisconsin community. Students work closely with a dedicated team of physicians to provide comprehensive care across all ages, including outpatient care, obstetrics, procedures, and hospital medicine. This immersive rotation offers hands-on learning, continuity of care, and exposure to the unique challenges and rewards of rural practice. Free housing is provided.

High Point Family Medicine, Lancaster, WI

Director: Jahanvi Patel Kothari, DO | Site Director: Eric Stader, MD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47206: Community Engagement with Structurally Marginalized Communities

Course Description
Work with the Center for Healthy Communities and Research to partner with local organizations and address real community health needs. Students gain hands-on experience in health promotion, explore social determinants of health, and develop solutions to challenges faced by urban underserved populations.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 Hub for Collaborative Medicine, A2340-4/Hybrid

Faculty Director: Leslie Ruffalo, PhD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47207: Ambulatory Family Medicine at the South Side Family Medicine Residency

Course Description
Train in a dynamic ambulatory setting at Froedtert Southside Family Medicine Residency, serving a predominantly Latinx, urban underserved population. Students provide comprehensive care across the lifespan, including prenatal care and substance use treatment, while learning to address complex social and economic barriers to health. This hands-on experience also offers valuable exposure to a family medicine residency program for future applicants.

Forest Home Health Center

Director: Jeremy Waldhart, DO
Coordinator: Blanca Garcia

FMED-47208: Family Medicine as Counterculture

Course Description
Explore the role of family physicians in addressing health disparities and community needs. Students engage with clinicians serving underserved populations – tackling issues such as the opioid crisis, refugee care, and access gaps – while examining the social justice foundations of medicine. This course is ideal for students interested in advocacy and community-focused care.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 Hub for Collaborative Medicine, A2340-4

Faculty Director: Bryan Johnston, MD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47209: Sports Medicine-Primary Care

Course Description
Build skills in evaluating and treating common musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses in athletes. Students gain hands-on experience while learning the roles of the multidisciplinary sports medicine team in delivering comprehensive care.

Where to report will be provided in student letter.

Faculty Director: Craig Young, MD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47210: Maternal and Child Health within Family Medicine at the North Side Family Medicine Residency

Course Description
Gain hands-on experience in maternity and newborn care within a family medicine setting. Students care for prenatal, postpartum, and newborn patients in clinic and hospital environments, while learning lactation counseling and care coordination to support mothers and infants across the continuum of care.

Outreach Community Health Center

Director: Kiara Dillard-Dorve’, DO
Course Coordinator: Varonica Williams

FMED-47211: Family Medicine Medley

Course Description
Explore the full scope of family medicine through immersive clinical experiences across diverse care settings, including inpatient care, maternal-child health, geriatrics, sports medicine, and community-based practice. Students integrate into care teams, build clinical skills, and follow patients longitudinally in a “home base” clinic, gaining a deeper understanding of the specialty and shaping their future career path.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 Hub for Collaborative Medicine, A2340-4

Faculty Director: Lauren Maher, MD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47212: Academic Family Medicine and Community Based Research

Course Description
Conduct a mentored research project in Family and Community Medicine, working closely with faculty while participating in seminars and community engagement activities. Students develop individualized goals, track progress, and present their work, gaining experience in research, scholarship, and service.
Prerequisite: Requires a pre-arranged project and faculty mentor approval.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 Hub for Collaborative Medicine, A2340-4

Faculty Director: Katinka Hooyer, PhD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47213: A Community Based Approach to Serving Military Veterans

Course Description
Develop the skills to serve U.S. military Veterans through community-based public health approaches. Students explore peer support models, outreach strategies, and alternative healing practices while engaging in experiential learning with local Veteran-serving organizations.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 Hub for Collaborative Medicine, A2340-4/Hybrid

Faculty Director: Leslie Ruffalo, PhD
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

FMED-47270: Mastering the Difficult Conversation

Course Description
Strengthen essential communication skills for challenging clinical situations. Students practice and receive feedback on managing difficult conversations, including addressing health literacy and cultural barriers, de-escalating angry patients, motivating behavior change, and delivering bad news.
Note: Students are limited to one online course per academic year.

Family & Community Medicine
黑料官网 | Online

Faculty Director: John Hayes, DO
Course Coordinator: Laura Johnson

Phase 3 Acting Internships

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 to see required family medicine course offerings.

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 course catalog, you must sign into 黑料官网connect. Additional information is available on the Registrar's website.

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FMED-35200: Family Medicine Acting Internship at Froedtert Hospital

Course Description
This acting internship prepares students to function with greater independence in the inpatient setting. Students learn to perform comprehensive patient assessments, manage acutely ill patients’ short-term needs, and develop and implement care plans. Emphasis is placed on clinical decision-making, weighing risks and benefits of therapies, and monitoring patient outcomes.

Froedtert Hospital
900 N. 92nd St.
Milwaukee, WI 53226

Directors: Elizabeth Brandes, MD, and Beth Damitz, MD
Course Coordinator: Blanca Garcia

FMED-35201: Family Medicine Acting Internship at Froedtert Menomonee Falls

Course Description
This course introduces students to the role of the family physician on an inpatient care team. Students gain experience evaluating, diagnosing, and managing hospitalized adults, newborns, and obstetric patients while building core interviewing and clinical skills. The rotation highlights the broad scope of family medicine within the hospital setting.

Froedtert Menomonee Falls
W180 N8085 Town Hall Rd.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051

Director: David Marshall, MD
Course Coordinator: Nartisha Leija and Amy Matenaer

FMED-35202: Family Medicine Acting Internship at Waukesha Memorial Hospital

Course Description
This will be an advanced experience in Family Medicine focusing on hospital care of Family Medicine patients including adults, pediatrics, ICU, NICU and obstetrical patients.

Waukesha Memorial Hospital
725 American Ave.
Waukesha, WI 53188

Director: Maureen Longeway, MD
Course Coordinator: Diane Behling

Visiting Senior Medical Students

黑料官网’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 each January: