Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs

1
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of
MedicineOffice of Student Affairs

• CLASS OF 2011
• INTRODUCTION TO
• FOURTH YEAR
• SCHEDULING PLANNING

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Agenda

• Fourth Year Clerkship Track System
• Lottery Process
• Required clerkships
• Elective requirements, registration VSAS
• USMLE Step 2 requirements timing
• Residency Planning Future Meetings
• Online Resources

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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 43 Extramural Electives
• 45 46 Discretionary Time
• 47 49 Step 2 Exams
• 50 53 Prep for Residency Application

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Handout

• Clerkship Track System and Its Policies
• Lottery Timeline
• Lottery Numbers
• Fourth Year Calendar
• Timeline for Elective Registration Calendar
• 4th Yr Planning Sheet

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Calendar

• Yr 4 starts July 6, 2010 (July Period 9A)
• Will there be a start of year orientation program
  this year? TBA
• Qtrly break weeks at end of Sept, December, none
  formally assigned at end of March
• Match Day and Graduation dates tentatively posted

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Fourth Year Overview of Requirements

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

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Core Clerkships

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

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Bioethics Requirement

• Ethics case paper due July 9, 2010
• Four Ethics Grand Rounds must be completed
  cumulatively over 2nd, 3rd and 4th years

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Elective Curriculum

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

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Fourth Yr Track Features

• Flexibility
• Opportunity for student choice
• One required core clerkship and two electives in
  each of first three quarters
• Availability of at least half of the elective
  time in first half of the year

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Fourth Yr Track System

• Assigned to track by lottery
• Computer generated lottery number
• Rank order all tracks
• Submit rank form by January 28, 2010 on myLUMEN

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Picking a track

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

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Attendance

• Limited time off for serious reasons in both
  subinternships and neurology (3 days including
  weekend days)
• Final exam schedule is NOT changeable
• Plan holiday or interview travel after only
  determining the date time of day of exams
• Labor Day is a holiday but not a 3 day weekend if
  service team is not off
• Thanksgiving is a four day holiday weekend

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Clerkship Requirements

• Purpose and Assignment Process

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Subinternships

• 4-weeks in-pt medicine (Sub-I Wards)
• LU, VA, MacNeal, West Sub
• 4-weeks intensive care unit (Sub-I ICU)
• medicine, surgery, pediatrics, or OB
• LU, VA, MacNeal, Resurrection, or West Sub

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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)

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Subinternship assignments

• Opportunity will be provided to submit preference
  rank lists for site/service
• Assignments by lottery to services sites by
  late winter through Dr. Fitzs office (separate
  lottery process, using track rank list in reverse
  order)

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Neurology Clerkship

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

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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.

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ELECTIVES

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

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Electives

• Course Descriptions online in SSOM Elective
  Catalog
• Usually are 4 weeks in length
• Several 2-week electives available
• At least 20 weeks of your elective program must
  consist of full time electives that are at least
  4-weeks in length
• 26 weeks of electives minimum graduation
  requirement

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Electives (continued)

• 12 weeks of elective time permitted away
  (extramurals)
• 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

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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

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Building Your Elective Program Content

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

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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

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4th Year Goals by Season

• Focus of each quarter
• Summer
• Fall
• Winter
• Spring

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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 USMLE Step 2 prep
• Preparation of residency application starts
• Externships start

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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
• Complete Step 2 study and take CK and CS (more on
  this later)

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Winter Goals

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

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Spring Goals

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

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Elective Registration Process

• How When to Register

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Loyola (intramural) elective sign up

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

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Elective RegistrationIntramurals (Loyola)

• Review course descriptions policies in elective
  catalog online
• Online elective registration through myLUMEN
• More info from ORR closer to first opening
  registration date (1st week of March)

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Externships (extramural electives)

• Up to 12 weeks permitted 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 in 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!

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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

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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!

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Externship Course descriptions

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

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Extramural Registration

• Review policies in SSOM catalog
• Review visiting student policies in other
  schools catalog
• Application
• on line Visiting Student Application Service
  (VSAS) OR
• paper application packet submitted to site
  through SSOM Reg Rec

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Visiting Student Application Service

• Developed by AAMC
• About half of US medical schools use VSAS to
  process visiting student applications the others
  use their own paper applications.
• See http//www.aamc.org/programs/vsas/students/sta
  rt.htm for a list of schools using VSAS (will be
  updated for 10-11 year in late January).
• More info about VSAS forthcoming from
  Registration Records

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Extramural Registrationfor schools not using VSAS

• Complete Loyolas extramural application AND
• Complete other institutions Visiting Student
  Application
• Often possible to list more than one date or
  several elective preferences
• Compile supporting documents submit to Tess
  Kazda in Registration Records
• Dean Mendez will review and approve application
  application packet will then be mailed to
  extramural school

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Extramural Registrationadditional documentation
(submitted via VSAS or by paper)
Typical Supporting documents

• 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
• Affiliation agreement? Memo of Understanding?

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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

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Discretionary Time Use

• Time for Additional Elective Opportunities OR
• For USMLE Step 2 study time
• Residency Interview time off
• For extramural calendar adjustment (other
  schools calendar doesnt match Stritchs)
• For remediation needs
• For personal needs

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Applying for Discretionary Time Off

• May be taken in one week or longer increments
• Request must be submitted in advance
• Submit Discretionary Time requests through
  myLUMEN Elective Registration page

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USMLE STEP 2 CK CS

• Requirement Timing
• USMLE Step 2 CK CS must be PASSED to graduate
  and these scores should be reported at least one
  month prior to graduation, approx May 1st.
• However, residency considerations will require
  you to have scores available much earlier than
  May 1st to meet those expectations likely
  before mid-February

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USMLE Step 2 planning Residency considerations

• Early test take before Sept 30 (scores out
  before interviews are offered)
• Mid-yr test take by end of Nov (scores out
  before residencys make rank decisions)
• Late test after mid-January (scores out after
  match ranking finished) (not recommended)

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USMLE Step 2 CK CS timing

• CK
• Scores reported approx 6 weeks after test date.
• Take before January 1st to have score available
  by mid February before residency rank list is
  due
• CS Scores are reported according to a block
  schedule http//www.usmle.org/Examinations/step2/
  step2cs_reporting.html
• May 16 - July 17 reported Aug 18 - Sep 15,
  2010
• Jul 18 -Sep 11 reported Oct 13 - Nov 10
• Sep 12 -Nov 6 - reported Dec 8 - Jan 5, 2011
• Nov 7 - Dec 31 reported Feb 2, 2011 - Feb 23,
  2011
• Jan 1 Feb 27 reported by end of April
  (tentative/projected date)

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Residency Planning

• You may want to know now

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Residency Letters of Recommendation

• Up to four letters for ERAS/NRMP programs often
  only 3 are requested.
• Up to three for early match programs
• Request letters when opportunities present
• Submitted by writer to Student Affairs with 2011
  ERAS cover letter in June mid-Sept (cover
  letter available in June)

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CV and Personal Statement

• Feedback on CVs recently submitted
• May submit updated copy this spring for Deans
  Letter use (due date TBA)
• Personal paragraph needed for deans letter -
  Instructions and timeline will be provided

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Online Resources

• Loyola Elective Catalog http//stritch.luc.edu/de
  pts/regrec/catalog
• AAMC Extramural Elective Compendium
  http//www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/electives
  /start.htm
• AMA-FREIDA (Residency program info)
  http//www.ama-assn.org/go/freida
• Match info http//www.nrmp.org/
• Residency Web Application process
  http//www.aamc.org/audienceeras.htm
• USMLE STEP 2 info http//www.usmle.org/Examinatio
  ns/step2/step2.html
• Visiting Student Application Service
  http//www.aamc.org/programs/vsas/
• Careers in Medicine http//www.aamc.org/cim

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Future Workshops

• Deans Letter Process
• 1 pm February 24th following PCM3 sessions
• The Match ERAS
• 1 pm April 14th following PCM3 sessions

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Ask Questions!

• It is acceptable, expected, smart
• Where
• Registration Records (how to sign up for
  electives, policies)
• Student Affairs (what to take, when)
• Faculty Advisor (what, where, when)
• Specialty faculty (where, when, how many)
• Elective dept. offices (how, which)

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Submitting your Track Preferences

• Go to myLUMENgt myInformationgt Clerkship Tracking
  Sys.gt Fourth Year Track Ranking Form

Ranking Form due January 28th

• If you encounter any problems, contact Julie
  Steinecker (jsteinecker_at_lumc.edu)

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Questions?

• Remember Track Ranking Form is due Thursday,
  January 28th.