The USF Department of Pediatrics provides outstanding pediatric medical education. We strive to foster the knowledge and clinical experience necessary to develop basic skills to care for infants, children and adolescents.

Pediatrics is taught as part of two third year clerkships - Inpatient Pediatrics and the Primary Care Clerkships. Primary care includes a variety of outpatient experiences in pediatric clinics, private offices and subspecialty clinics designed to expose the students to a variety of primary care diagnoses. While on the Primary Care clerkship, students will learn to perform a problem- focused history and physical exam, to formulate differential diagnoses, and a plan for each patient they see. During the Pediatric clerkship students spend one month at one of our primary hospitals learning about pediatric inpatient care. While on the month-long rotation of Inpatient Pediatrics, the students spend one week in the Newborn Nursery.

The involvement of the Pediatrics Department in three interdisciplinary clerkships allows the student to be exposed to the pediatric population during three separate times of the third year. These separate exposures serve to reinforce the pediatrics they have already learned while on different clerkships-almost like a booster shot. They will be exposed to multiple pediatric diagnoses and will then use the knowledge they have gained from their experiences to care for the patient with those diagnoses. The student will gain an understanding of the importance of preventive care and at the end of all their pediatrics experiences, the students should have a broad understanding of both the inpatient and outpatient realms of pediatrics.

At the USF Department of Pediatrics, we provide opportunities for fourth year students in electives and internships. Our faculty and residents are compassionate educators and look forward to working with students. Please contact our education office for more information or to answer any of your questions.

Fourth Year Electives

The USF Health Department of Pediatrics offers USF students and visiting fourth-year medical students a broad selection of elective courses and multiple active-internship opportunities.

Our fourth-year specialty electives in inpatient and outpatient environments give students a chance to learn about subspecialty medicine in a clinical environment while working alongside faculty to provide care to all children. Students with an interest in pediatrics, family medicine, emergency medicine, or combined internal medicine-pediatrics are encouraged to take part in pediatric acting-internships for a comprehensive inpatient clinical experience.

All interested students are welcome to enroll. For visiting students, USF uses the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS). Applications may be submitted through VSAS after May 1st. View our policies and procedures for visiting students.

Contact Us

2 Tampa General Circle
Tampa, FL 33606
Phone: (813) 259-8638
Email: cmcgugin@usf.edu