Program Goals
The goals and objectives of the medical toxicology elective are to:
- Provide a well-rounded experience in medical toxicology. This will be accomplished by providing the opportunity for bedside clinical evaluation, poison center consultation, and daily educational lectures.
- Have medical students learn the application of basic sciences, especially pharmacology, in the recognition and management of various toxidromes.
- Provide the rotator with an opportunity to teach medical toxicology to residents and students from other services by discussing consultant recommendations and presenting a lecture at the end of the monthly rotation.
- Demonstrate the ability to critically review toxicology literature. The medical toxicology rotation includes a weekly journal club. The rotator will be expected to actively participate in the journal club by reading and critiquing articles on toxicology issues.
- Demonstrate proficiency in performing literature searches. The rotator will frequently be assigned medical toxicology questions/issues and will be expected to search the literature to come up with answers to the problem.
- Demonstrate proficiency with electronic information databases that can be essential to the solution of toxicologic problems. The rotator will be introduced to the poisondex database and will utilize the poison center's electronic medical record during their rotation.
- The student will develop effective communication skills, telephone history taking, and accurate transmission of information.
- The rotation will allow students to acquire an understanding of toxic hazards of daily life and the practice of medicine.
- Students completing a 4-week elective will be required to complete an 8-hour online training on the topic of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. This course will educate them on the role of buprenorphine treatment in the management of patients with opioid use disorder.
