ACE: Critical Care, VU

School of Medicine

This course is a four-week experience in multidisciplinary critical care medicine from the perspective of internal medicine. The student will be expected to fulfill much of the role of a junior level house officer, but will be closely supervised by interns, residents, and a senior critical care fellow, as well as a critical care attending. The unit is a very active critical care facility which manages a wide variety of medical emergencies using extensive monitoring and support equipment. The emphasis is on pulmonary disease, infection, and renal dysfunction, but covers all aspects of critical illness, including endocrinology, nutritional support, cost containment, and ethical issues. Teaching rounds are given daily, and these are supplemented with didactic lecture-discussions several days each week. Fulfills the acute care course requirement.