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The Community Based Longitudinal Course (CBLC) is a 16-week longitudinal experience.

Course Structure

CBLC is a 16-week longitudinal experience. Each student’s schedule will be different, but the general scheme is three primary care clinical days, one self-directed learning day, half a day of time dedicated to quality improvement, and half a day for curriculum or other learning each week. Components of the course include:

  • Adult Medicine Preceptor Assignments: Students will be assigned to either a Family Medicine or Internal Medicine preceptor. You will spend the majority of your time with your preceptor seeing patients, writing notes, and researching relevant clinical questions.
  • Pediatric Preceptor Assignment: If you’re assigned to a Family Medicine physician with a low pediatric volume, or to an Internal Medicine physician, you will also be assigned to a Pediatric Medicine physician one day a week.
  • Assessment: You will be assessed by your preceptor at the end of the trimester. There will also be weekly assignments/quizzes, a multi-station OSCE, reflective essays, an oral exam, video encounters, professionalism and peer evaluations, and the NBME shelf exam. Students will take the Family Medicine shelf exam and the Pediatric CLIPP case exam.
  • Learning during the rotation: In addition to the weekly schedule, students will have other experiences including: hospice, a procedures workshop, weekend ER experiences, a quality improvement project, video encounters for review at the AHEC, mental health experiences, and a senior center or senior daycare experience. Please check deadlines and schedules for each of these experiences.
  • Self-Directed Learning Experiences: These experiences can occur in two different ways. A student may be scheduled for these experiences or they may choose to follow a patient to a subspecialty evaluation or procedure.
  • Observable Practice Activities (OPAs): In your Primary Care experiences you will be required to complete a series of activities that demonstrate your ability to perform certain skills. You must have these OPAs observed and signed off by an attending physician. If you are scheduled for a subspecialty experience you must also have the subspecialty OPA signed off. You are responsible for presenting the OPAs to the attending at the beginning of the week or session and getting them signed off in real-time. OPAs are a course requirement.

Course Leadership

Karina Whelan
Yee Lam

Clinic Sites

Chapel Hill area, including clinics within the Piedmont Health System (Carrboro, Moncure, and Burlington)
Wake County
Greensboro

Course Content and Components

CBLC provides an evidence-based approach to evaluate and manage patients in the ambulatory setting with un-diagnosed signs, symptoms, or health concerns. It teaches comprehensive care for patients with multiple chronic conditions, develops an approach to health promotion, and refines clinical skills. The course also integrates skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to population health and professional development. The course includes longitudinal experiences in practices taking care of adults and in practices taking care of children. It provides flexible time for focused experiences in specialty settings, in emergency departments, and with community resources.

Assessment and Grading Components

All Application Phase courses use the same grading standards and assessment components. More information.
CBLC students will receive a final grade at the end of the 16-week trimester. All assignments must be completed in a timely manner; not completing an assignment risks failing the course.
CBLC Grade Breakdown