Message From the Clerkship Director
Dear M3 Students,
Welcome to Pediatrics. We hope that you will enjoy your time with us. The knowledge and skills you gain during your pediatric clerkship will be useful no matter which field you ultimately choose.
Pediatrics is the only specialty in which one may see a 500-gram premature infant and a 136-kilogram (300-pound) football player for a check-up. As in all of medicine, you need to know the pathophysiological basis of disease. However, in Pediatrics you also must understand the interaction between the disease and the child’s developmental milestones and psychosocial processes. There is always so much to learn!
Please don’t hesitate to ask questions. Get involved and work hard. But most of all, enjoy the kids. They are terrific… and fun.
If there is anything we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Ruth Sypes (573-882-8350) will be able to help you with urgent and non-urgent matters.
Sincerely,
Amie VanMorlan, MD
Clerkship Director
Aaron Waggie, DO
Assistant Clerkship Director
Clerkship Programs
Welcome to the Pediatrics medical student education office. The Medical Student Coordinator is Ruth Sypes, and her office is located at 400 N. Keene St., which is south of Women’s Hospital. The M3 Pediatrics clerkship is divided into four weeks of inpatient and four weeks of outpatient. The inpatient portion consists of three weeks of wards and one week in the newborn observation unit (well newborns) which are both located at Women’s Hospital. The outpatient portion is divided into two weeks with a primary care pediatrician and two weeks with a sub-specialist. The clerkship is only available to M3 students enrolled in the MU School of Medicine.
Electives
There are many M4 four-week electives available to medical students. M4s are required to take 32 weeks of electives (12 weeks of Advanced Selectives; four weeks of Advanced Biomedical Sciences electives; and 16 weeks of general electives). There are also 2 two-week electives offered which are only available to MU students. MU School of Medicine M4s will have first priority in choosing the electives.
Visiting Students
After M4s choose their electives, visiting students can choose electives, pending an approval process through the Office of Medical Education and the Pediatrics clerkship directors. Visiting students applying to take an M4 four-week elective apply through VSAS and may contact the Office of Medical Education with questions. Applications will be screened in April.
