Internal Medicine Interest Group of the Month: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School
Club Med, the Internal Medicine Interest Group at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School, is one of the most popular noncredit electives offered to first- and second-year medical students. The elective consists of a lecture series, as well as RTM (Residents Teaching Medical Students) sessions.
The lectures cover a wide variety of topics, including "What Is an Internist?" and "Developing a Differential Diagnosis." There are also separate lectures on the various specialties within internal medicine, including pulmonology, gastroenterology, cardiology, nephrology, and endocrinology. These lectures provide students with some insight into the field of internal medicine and what the various subspecialties entail.
The RTM sessions, on the other hand, provide clinical exposure. RTM sessions are clinical teaching rounds offered five to six times per month. During each session, five medical students meet with a resident and have the opportunity to observe some of the more interesting clinical cases in the hospital. This allows students to apply what they have learned in class and become more proficient at physical diagnosis. It also provides first- and second-year medical students with an opportunity for obtaining clinical exposure in their "preclinical" years.
Club Med also organizes a Match Panel. After Match Day, fourth-year medical students who matched into internal medicine discuss the application and interviewing process with underclasspersons.
Last year, Club Med sponsored a well-attended performance at the school. Damaged Care: The Musical Comedy about Health Care in America, is a musical comedy about health care and health policy. It was written and performed by two physicians, Greg LaGana, MD, and Barry Levy, MD. The event was also sponsored by ACP.
Club Med has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in the spring of 2004. For 2011-2012, 277 out of 680 medical students (41%) at New Jersey Medical School were members of the ACP. The ACP has been very supportive and provided many resources for the organization.
Club Med was founded in the spring of 2004 by Tony Tarchichi. Dr. Tarchichi is currently a dual internal medicine-pediatrics resident at UMDNJ-University Hospital. Dr. Neil Kothari, Club Med advisor and program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at UMDNJ-University Hospital, is actively involved with the organization. He also serves on the governor's council for the New Jersey Chapter of ACP.
Club Med is run by second-year medical students. The current executive board includes Yoni Litwok, Nury Yim, Derek Yee, Jenna Kaufman, Connie Chang, Ashley Tran, and Prasanthi Yelavarthy. Leadership is passed on to rising second-year medical students who have shown genuine interest in the organization and have participated in various Club Med activities.
Yoni Litwok '14
President of Club Med, 2011-2012
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
E-mail: litwokyo@umdnj.edu