Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs

1
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of
MedicineOffice of Student Affairs

• CLASS OF 2009
• INTRODUCTION TO FOURTH YEAR SCHEDULING PLANNING

2
Agenda

• Fourth Year Clerkship Track System
• Lottery Process
• Required courses and clerkships
• Elective requirements registration
• USMLE Step 2 requirements timing
• Residency Planning Preview
• On-line Resources

3
Table of Contents

• Slides 4 12 4th Year Overview
• 13 19 Required Clerkships (Sub-Is and Neuro)
• 20 25 Electives
• 26 30 4th Year by Season
• 31 33 Intramural Electives
• 34 39 Extramural Electives
• 41 42 Discretionary Time
• 43 45 Step 2 Exams
• 46 49 Prep for Residency Application

4
Handout

• Clerkship Track System and Its Policies
• Lottery Timeline
• Lottery Numbers
• Fourth Year Calendar
• Timeline for Elective Registration Calendar
• Track Rank Form

5
Calendar

• Yr 4 starts June 30, 2008
• ½ day Orientation on June 30th
• No Week One seminar course as in past

6
Fourth Year

• 12 weeks of core clerkships (Neuro, Sub-I Wards,
  Sub-I ICU)
• 34 weeks of elective clerkships
• Bioethics Requirements
• Completion of Ethics Case Paper
• Completion of Ethics Grand Rounds (min. of 4
  sessions)
• USMLE Step 2 CK and CS

7
Core Clerkships

• One 4-week Wards Subinternship
• Available periods all periods 9A (July) through
  12A (April), except 10C (December)
• One 4-week Critical Care Subinternship
• Available periods all periods 9A (July) through
  12A (April), except 10C (December)
• One 4-week Neurology Clerkship
• Available periods all periods 9A (July) through
  12A (April)

8
Bioethics Requirement

• Ethics case paper due July 11, 2008
• Four Ethics Grand Rounds must be completed
  cumulatively over 2nd, 3rd and 4th years

9
Elective Curriculum

• 34 weeks available
• 26 weeks minimum graduation requirement
• 8 weeks additional elective time or
  discretionary time (use DT for USMLE study,
  residency interview time, personal, etc.)

10
Fourth Yr Track Features

• Flexibility
• Opportunity for student choice
• Dispersal of core clerkships across all quarters
• Availability of at least half of the elective
  time in first half of the year

11
Fourth Yr Track System

• Assignments to track by lottery
• Computer generated lottery number
• Rank order all tracks
• Submit rank form by January 23, 2008 to Reg.
  Records (ORR)

12
Picking a track

• Consider what your elective and residency needs
  may be in each quarter
• Consider when you will take USMLE Step 2 CK and
  CS
• Consider which core clerkships prep you best for
  the electives you will take

13
Attendance

• Limited time off for serious reasons in both
  subinternships and neurology (2 4 days)
• Final exam schedule is NOT changeable
• Plan holiday or interview travel only after
  determining the date time of day of final exams

14
Requirements Clerkships

• Purpose and Assignment Process

15
Subinternships

• 4-weeks Ward Medicine
• 4-weeks critical care unit in medicine, surgery,
  pediatrics, OB
• Assigned to Loyola and other sites

16
Purpose of subinternships

• Focus on skills and attitudes necessary to care
  for hospitalized and critically ill patients
• Emphasis is on patient care in the context of
  wards or ICU emphasis not on the specialty
• Thus, subinternships are posted on SSOM
  transcript without specialty noted (transcript
  reads only Subintern-Wards and Subintern-ICU)

17
Subinternship assignments

• Opportunity will be provided to submit preference
  rank lists
• Assignments by lottery to services sites by
  late winter through Dr. Fitzs office
• Track lottery numbers DO NOT APPLY to the
  subinternship lotteries this is a separate
  lottery process

18
Neurology Clerkship

• In- and out-patient experiences
• LUMC and HVA hospital sites
• Site assignment by lottery about a month before
  the clerkship starts

19
Rescheduling Sub-I or Neuro

• Changes may be possible according to track system
  traffic rules
• May trade entire track or individual clerkship
• After Subinternship site/service assignments are
  created, changes must be initiated through Debi
  Kurcab in the Med Dept.

20
ELECTIVES

• Policies registration process
• Purpose of elective curriculum
• How to design your program

21
Electives

• Course Descriptions online in SSOM Elective
  Catalog
• Usually are 4 weeks in length
• Several 2-week electives available
• At least five electives that are 4-weeks long
  must be included within the 26 week minimum

22
Electives (continued)

• 12 weeks of elective time permitted away
• 12 weeks permitted in any specialty
• Excludes time in core clerkships in the specialty
• Includes electives at Loyola and away
• Includes clinical and research courses
• Other elective policies in catalog preface

23
Purpose of Electives

• Broadens strengthens clinical experience
• Tests interest in an area of specialization
• Provides research or special opportunities
• Permits self determination responsibility for
  content of program

24
Building Your Elective Program Content

• Use Specialty Elective Guide at online Loyola
  Elective Catalog site
• Talk to faculty advisor(s)
• Attend department sessions ask questions
• Talk to faculty in your field(s) of interest
• See Dean Wronski or Dean Mendez for input
• Attend SAS programs

25
Keep Objectives in Mind

• Electives should provide a broad-based
  educational opportunity
• They are not intended solely as a residency job
  search tool
• What you take is critical to your preparation for
  internship/residency and USMLE Step 2
• Dont get lost in where and when strategy only

26
4th Year Goals by Season

• Focus of each quarter

27
Summer Goals

• Solidify specialty interest
• May/may not need to take specialty elective at
  Loyola to earn a recommendation letter (depends
  on prior exposure)
• Summer work may bump up performance level
• Courses provides prep for important externships
• May need study wks/month for early USMLE Step 2
• Preparation of residency application starts
• Externships start

28
Fall Goals

• Externships continue
• Residency interview season kicks in will you
  need time off? Should you take DT?
• Should you plan an away elective geographically
  to place you in proximity to residency interview
  locales?
• Sept/Oct courses could still produce residency
  recommendation letters

29
Winter Goals

• Take courses to round out your education
• Prepare for starting a residency (what do you
  still need to learn?)
• Prepare for Step 2 and block study time if still
  pending
• Rank residencies for match (late Jan-Feb)

30
Spring Goals

• Complete graduation requirements
• Take enrichment courses
• Take residency prep electives offered at SSOM
• Get tuitions worth by staying enrolled
• Take DT for personal/transitional use

31
Elective Registration Process

• How When to Register

32
Loyola (intramural) elective sign up

• Through submission of an application
• Must adhere to the official timetable for
  elective registration
• Sign up starts about 5 months in advance of the
  each elective months start date

33
Elective RegistrationIntramurals (Loyola)

• Review course descriptions policies in elective
  catalog online
• Registration form available online
• Complete and submit to elective designate (may be
  centralized in dept.)
• Department will confirm to you and O.R.R. that
  elective has been approved

34
Externships (extramural electives)

• Up to 12 weeks permitted away usually through
  another US med school
• Loyola sign up Timetable does NOT apply
• Reference AAMC Extramural Elective Compendium for
  timeline, websites, contact person at site (link
  available at Loyola Elective Catalog website)
• Sign up 1 5 months in advance of start date
  typically April mid-May for summer courses.
• CHECK YOUR EXTRAMURAL SITES SIGN UP DATE!

35
Purpose of externships

• To get an excellent learning experience
• To help narrow specialty interests
• To see a program of interest first hand
• To work with an outstanding faculty
• To show your stuff perhaps get a recommendation
  letter
• To assess a programs compatibility with your
  needs
• To do unique non-hospital based experiences

36
Do you need to do 3 externships (12 weeks)?

• It depends
• On your interests, profile, specialty field and
  geographical considerations
• Most students should do one or two
• Some specialties discourage more than one
  elective in the field others promote student
  enrollment in several. SEEK ADVICE!

37
Externship Course descriptions

• Online at other schools web site
• Or provided by schools contact office (listed in
  AAMC Extramural Compendium)

38
Extramural Registration

• Review policies in SSOM catalog
• Review visiting student policies in other
  schools catalog
• Complete Loyolas extramural application AND
• Complete other institutions Visiting Student
  Application (may be available online)
• Often possible to list more than one date or
  several elective preferences
• Compile supporting documents submit in one
  mailing through O.R.R. (see Tess Kazda)

39
Extramural RegistrationTypical Supporting
documents

• Faculty Advisors Dean Mendezs signatures
• Proof of liability coverage
• Current immunization record
• Proof of UP/OSHA/HIPAA training
• Proof of hospitalization insurance
• Possibly SSOM transcript
• Possibly faculty/deans letter of recommendation
• Possibly criminal background check record

40
Elective Add/Drop Policy

• Add register for electives at least one month
  prior to start date
• Drop (Loyola courses) at least one month prior
• Drop (Extramurals) according to other
  institutions policy, typically 4 6 weeks prior

41
Discretionary Time Use

• For USMLE Step 2 study time
• For Extramural calendar adjustment
• For remediation needs
• For personal needs

42
Applying for Discretionary Time Off

• Application must be filed in advance (to ORR)
• Form available in ORR or online
• May be taken in one week or longer increments

43
USMLE STEP 2 CK CS

• Requirement Timing

44
USMLE Step 2 planning Residency considerations

• Early test before Sept 30 (scores out before
  interviews are offered)
• Mid-yr test by end of Nov (scores out before
  residency rank season)
• Late test after mid-January (scores out after
  match ranking finished)

45
USMLE Step 2 CK CS timing

• USMLE Step 2 CK CS must be taken and PASSED to
  graduate
• CK Test date between July February advisable
  but no later than April 1, 2009
• (National trend is to take Step 2 by January in
  case residencies require proof of score before
  ranking)
• Take CS no later than end of February 2009
• Scores are reported according to a block
  schedule
• Test dates Jan 1 Feb 23 scores out Mar 26
  Apr 23
• Test dates Feb 24 Mar 22 scores out Apr 23
  May 21

46
Residency Recommendations

• Up to four for NRMP programs
• Up to three for early match programs
• Request letters when opportunities present
• Submit with 2009 ERAS cover letter in June - Sept
  to Student Affairs (cover letter available in
  June)

47
CV and Personal Statement

• Will be requested in the near future by Student
  Affairs to use in preparing the deans letter
• Instructions and timeline will be provided

48
Online Resources

• Loyola Elective Catalog
• AAMC Extramural Elective Compendium
  http//www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/electives
  /start.htm Page also linked through Loyola
  Elective Catalog under Extramural Registration)
• AMA-FREIDA (www.ama.org/FREIDA)
• Match info (www.AAMC.org/nrmp)
• Residency Web Application process
  (www.aamc.org/ERAS)

49
Future Workshops

• Deans Letter Process (February)
• The Match (NRMP Ranking System) ERAS
  (electronic application system) (April)

50
Ask Questions!

• It is acceptable, expected, smart
• Where
• O.R.R. (how to sign up, policies)
• Student Affairs (what, when)
• Faculty Advisor (what, where, when)
• Specialty faculty (where, when, how many)
• Elective dept. offices (how)

51
Questions?

• Track rank form due January 23th in ORR (Rm. 220).