Premedical and Pre-clerkship Medical Students
1st year UCD SOM Curriculum:
Preclinical medical students are introduced to reproductive health during the Mechanisms & Disease block of the first year curriculum. In the ENRG (endocrinology, nutrition, reproduction, genetics) thread, students will learn about the overlapping and integrative functions and regulation of nutrition, the endocrine and reproductive systems, and the genetic basis of diseases across the human lifespan. Both the basic and pathophysiologic processes are considered. The teaching is a mix of lecture and precepted small group cases that are student-driven. A small core of our clinical faculty give the lectures related to reproduction, including menstrual disorders, contraception, early pregnancy maintenance and failure, pregnancy and labor physiology, and sexually transmitted infections. All faculty members enjoy precepting the small group cases that delve into the interface of basic and clinical reproduction knowledge.
Extra-Curricular Programs:
Clinical Shadowing for UC Davis Preclinical Medical Students
UC Davis students who are interested in getting exposed to clinical OBGYN prior to entering the clinical years of medical school are welcome to contact us for these opportunities. We have opportunities available to shadow on Labor and Delivery with Dr. Debra Wright, as well as a network of physicians who are willing to have students shadow them in the ambulatory OBGYN clinics.
Women’s Clinics at the Student-Run Free Clinics
The UC Davis Student-Run Free Clinics has been training UC Davis students in delivering primary care services while simultaneously improving access to care in underserved communities for more than 35 years. The seven clinics, serving several distinct patient populations, represent a program has been recognized nationally as an exemplary partnership between an academic medical center and the community. The clinics hold regular Women’s Clinics to address the unique needs of female patients regarding pap screening, breast cancer screening, and menstrual issues.
Prenatal Shadowing
The prenatal shadowing program, run by Dr. Alison Breen, offers first and second year students the opportunity to establish a longitudinal relationship with a prenatal patient. The student is paired with a patient during the intake process or the first visit with their obstetrician, and attends all outpatient, genetic counseling and ultrasound visits as an emotional support and a patient advocate. The student will ultimately attend the patient's labor and delivery. This program is intended to instill medical students with an appreciation for the continuity of the physician-patient relationship in prenatal care and its importance in providing high quality health care.