Experience the full spectrum of patient care. In this clerkship, you will manage health maintenance and complex disease processes for patients at every stage of life—from newborns to geriatrics.

Comprehensive Clinical Training

Refine your diagnostic and interpersonal skills through:

• Direct Patient Engagement: Leading interviews, performing physical examinations, participating in procedural care, and presenting and documenting patient encounters.
• Diagnostic Mastery: Transitioning from interpreter to manager through interpreting imaging and laboratory studies, and developing management plans.
• Full-Spectrum Exposure: Managing patient care in both ambulatory and inpatient settings.

Choose Your Path

Tailor your clinical experience with two distinct placement options:

• Rural Placement: Immerse yourself in the unique dynamics of small-town medicine.
• Wichita Area Placement: Train within the heart of an urban healthcare hub.
• Additional opportunities include working at the JayDoc Community Clinic, participating in a continuity OB experience and seeing patients in the long-term care setting.

Step into a lead role within our premier residency environments. As a sub-intern, you will function as an integral member of the care team at one of three KU School of Medicine-Wichita sponsored residency programs:

• Ascension Via Christi (Wichita)
• Wesley Medical Center (Wichita)
• Smoky Hill (Salina)

What to Expect

Gain high-level clinical autonomy and advanced procedural experience under the direct mentorship of residents and faculty. Your rotation will include:

• Full-Spectrum Care: Evaluate and manage both outpatients and inpatients.
• Maternal & Newborn Health: Participate in labor, delivery and neonatal care.
• Hands-on Procedures: Perform clinical procedures with direct supervision.
• Hospital Dynamics: Engage in in-hospital call shifts to experience the true rhythm of residency life.

Course director: Tessa Rohrberg, M.D., trohrberg@kumc.edu

Course administrator: Erica Ortiz, eortiz2@kumc.edu

The Rural Preceptorship: Experience Kansas Medicine

Immerse yourself in the heart of Kansas healthcare. The Rural Preceptorship is more than a clinical rotation; it is an invitation to live in a rural community, explore the multi-faceted role of a small-town family physician, and understand the unique rewards of rural practice.

Clinical Scope

Working under the direct supervision of expert volunteer faculty, you will actively participate in the full spectrum of family medicine. Your experience may include:

• Comprehensive Care: Outpatient clinics, inpatient rounding, office procedures, ER coverage, maternity care, nursing home rounds and home visits
• Residency Readiness: Call assignments directed by your faculty mentor to simulate real-world practice.

Personalized Placements

Our department strives to match you with a site that aligns with your professional goals and clinical interests.

• Proactive Planning: To optimize your placement, please contact the course administrator as soon as you determine your rotation dates.
• Geographic Focus: Placements are available across Kansas, excluding Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties.
• The Rural Immersion: To ensure a true rural experience, sites within commuting distance of Wichita are only permitted under extenuating circumstances (e.g., family medical leave or a new child).

Housing & Logistics

• Accommodations: Most rural sites provide student housing. You may also choose to stay with friends or family near your site. All housing must be verified by the course coordinator prior to the start of the rotation. 
• Pet Policy: Please note that dogs, cats and other pets cannot be accommodated at rural rotation sites.
• Evaluation: Clinical performance is assessed using the standard elective evaluation form.

Get Started

If you would like to discuss options for the rural preceptorship or you have any questions, please contact the course administrator who can arrange a meeting with the course director.

Course director: Lynn Fisher, M.D., lfisher11@kumc.edu
Course administrator: Erica Ortiz, eortiz2@kumc.edu

The KU School of Medicine-Wichita Department of Family & Community Medicine offers a diverse range of electives designed to align with your unique clinical interests and professional goals. Whether you are looking to sharpen your skills in a specialized area or explore the breadth of primary care, our rotations provide high-quality, hands-on learning environments.

• View the Full List of Electives

Customized Learning Opportunities

Do you have a specific passion or a unique learning objective that isn't covered in our current course catalog? We are happy to discuss your specific interests and explore how they might be integrated into a Special Topics in Family & Community Medicine rotation.

Please note that all elective availability is subject to preceptor schedules and clinical site capacity.

Department Contacts

If you have questions about specific electives or wish to propose a special topic, please reach out to our leadership team:

• Course director: Lynn Fisher, M.D. | lfisher11@kumc.edu
• Course administrator: Erica Ortiz | eortiz2@kumc.edu

Scholarship, Enrichment and Remediation (SER) Weeks are dedicated periods in the medical school curriculum—scheduled four times during the first year and twice during the second year—designed to move learing beyond the classroom. Enrichment Weeks provide active and enriching ways to explore medicine beyond the classroom, focusing on themes of career exploration, professional development, community & beyond, leadership, and scholarship & discovery.

Family & Community Medicine Opportunities

The KU Wichita Department of Family & Community Medicine provides a diverse array of enrichment experiences tailored to your professional interests. Students can engage in clinical and leadership rotations, including:

• Diverse Clinical Environments: Gain hands-on experience in family medicine residency programs, rural practices, underserved clinics, Direct Primary Care (DPC) and urban-suburban settings.
• Specialty Focus Areas: Explore niche fields such as addiction medicine, emergency medicine, sports medicine, and long-term care.
• Leadership & Advocacy: Develop skills in healthcare administration, family medicine leadership and the implementation of trauma-informed care.

Learn More

Detailed information on schedules and available opportunities can be found on the Student SER Intranet.