BASIC INFORMATION

 

 

 

Duration of the elective: 1 month

 

 

Number of students: 2 students

 

 

Prerequisites: None

 

 

Location(s): Koç University Hospital

 

 

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

 

 

 

Elective Director: Dilek Ural

 

 

Elective Faculty: Interventional Cardiology/Coronary Artery Diseases: Vedat Aytekin, Alev Arat Ozkan, Alparslan Kiliç, Onur Baydar, Erol Gürsoy, Ömer Yildiz

 

 

 

Cardiac Imaging: Saide Aytekin, Gamze Aslan, Emel Çeliker Güler, Özge Güzelburç, Nihal Tefik

 

 

 

Heart Failure/Cardiovascular Prevention: Dilek Ural, Ece Yurtseven

 

 

 

Electrocardiography/Arrhythmias-Electrophysiology: Erol Tulumen

 

 

 

 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

During Cardiology Elective, 5th year students attend all routine activities of the Department. Student activities are supervised by the tutors. There are no nightshifts during the elective.

 

 

Outpatient clinic and diagnostic laboratories start at 09:00 and end at 17:00. The students meet the supervising physician every morning. They observe clinical diagnostic procedures in the related laboratories and actively participate the process of history taking, physical examination, diagnostic evaluation, and planning the treatment.

 

 

Students also attend invasive cardiovascular procedures, including right and left heart catheterization, coronary angioplasty and stenting, electrophysiological testing, catheter ablation, pacemaker/ICD implantation, percutaneous valvular interventions and pericardiocentesis. These are not pre-planned and will be decided on daily basis.

 

 

For in-hospital patients, visits start at 9:00. During in-hospital patient visits, students see patients together with the tutors and discuss every case.

 

 

 

The weekly educational activities in the Cardiology Clinic (between October – June) are as follows:

 

 

 

Tuesday (7.30-9.00): Seminars on cardiology guidelines

 

 

Wednesday (7.30-9.00): Biweekly. Mortality-morbidity meetings

 

 

Wednesday (12.15-13.00): Seminars organized by the Internal Medicine Department

 

 

Thursday (7.30-9.00): Cardiology-Cardiovascular Surgery Case Discussion Meetings

 

 

Friday (7.30-9.00): Seminars and Journal Club

 

 

 

Students actively participate in the meetings by presenting cases and literature.

 

 

Students are encouraged to join a research project and will continue their participation after the elective.

 

 

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

 

 

Completion of the Cardiology Elective equips a 5th year medical student with the knowledge, skills and behaviors to act independently in the diagnosis, assessment, and management of the main cardiovascular emergencies; diagnosis, assessment, and management of patients with main cardiovascular disorders; and risk assessment and the prevention of cardiovascular disease in the community.

 

 

 

Specific objectives are;

 

 

 

… to improve fund of knowledge on common cardiovascular conditions including acute coronary syndromes, congestive heart failure, and atrial fibrillation and how to evaluate and treat patients with these diagnoses.

 

 

… be able to take a focused history of a patient with cardiovascular disorder

 

 

… be able to perform a thorough physical examination in a patient presenting with a cardiovascular disorder including jugular vein evaluation, blood pressure measurement and cardiac auscultation

 

 

… to interpret basic abnormalities in twelve lead ECG and chest X-ray

 

 

… be able to choose appropriate diagnostic modalities in patients with cardiovascular diseases

 

 

… be able to perform and interpret the results of an exercise stress test

 

 

… be able to perform and interpret the results of an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

 

 

… be able to interpret main abnormalities in ambulatory ECG monitoring

 

 

… be able to assist an echocardiography examination

 

 

… be able to obtain an informed consent for percutaneous cardiac interventions

 

 

… be able to manage patients with cardiac emergencies in the emergency department

 

 

… be able to write a prescription for the treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia

 

 

… to be able to incorporate preventive cardiology into the overall care plan of the patients

 

 

… be able to write a discharge report at the end of the hospitalization

 

 

… to be able to communicate appropriately with patients, their families; and other medical, nursing and allied health care staff.

 

 

… to be able to understand fundamentals of study design, basic statistical methods and critical analysis of data

 

 

… to learn the basic approach to the understanding and interpretation of the literature

 

 

… to be able to participate in the design and implementation of a research project, either clinical or basic, including interpretation of results and preparation of abstracts and manuscripts

 

 

 

 

ASSESSMENT OR EVALUATION

 

 

 

Student’s knowledge, competencies including patient care, communication, professionalism and practice-based learning are observed throughout the elective. Although not graded, feedback on these competencies are provided continuously.

 

 

“KUSOM Clinical Performance Evaluation Form” is used for reporting.