Neonatology Medical Student Education

The goal of the pediatric core clerkship rotation for medical students at Baylor College of Medicine is to provide a well-rounded pediatric learning experience. It includes a two-week neonatology segment that accounts for 20 percent of a student's clinical performance grade.

During the neonatology segment, students round with faculty and senior residents in the newborn units at Texas Children's Hospital and Ben Taub Hospital.

At the end of the neonatology rotation, medical students should be able to:

• Perform a complete physical examination on a neonate and recognize general physical signs and symptoms of illness in a neonate
• List the diseases for which newborn screening is mandated in Texas
• Discuss the preventative approach to healthcare as the hallmark of pediatric care
• List recommendations in reference to breast feeding, bottle feeding, semi-solid food in infants
• Recognize signs of congenital infection and common congenital anomalies in the newborn
• List common causes of respiratory distress in the neonate
• Discuss the presentation, diagnosis, etiologic agents, and treatment of sepsis in the neonate
• Differentiate breast milk jaundice, physiologic jaundice, and hemolytic disease of the newborn
• Recognize and prevent hypothermia and hypoglycemia in the newborn
• List three serious complications associated with prematurity in the newborn