Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Office of Student Affairs

CLASS OF 2014

INTRODUCTION TO

FOURTH YEAR

SCHEDULING & PLANNING

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

Table of Contents

Slides 4 – 12: Handout, Calendar & 4th Year Overview

13 – 17: Required Clerkships (Sub-Is and EM) 18 – 22: Electives 23 – 27: 4th Year Goal by Season 28 – 29: Intramural Electives 30 – 37: Extramural Electives 38 – 39: Discretionary Time 40 – 42: Step 2 Exams 43 – 50: Residency Planning

Handout Clerkship Track System and Its Policies

Lottery Timeline

Lottery Numbers

Fourth Year Calendar

Timeline for Elective Registration Calendar

4th Yr Planning Sheet

Calendar

Yr 4 start date: First clerkship block starts Monday, July 1, 2013 (July = Period “9A”)

Qtrly break weeks at end of Sept (fall break), December (winter break), none formally assigned at end of March

Match Day and Graduation dates tentatively posted. Graduation will take place either Saturday, May 18th or Sunday the 19th

Fourth Year Overview of Requirements 12 weeks of core clerkships

Emergency Medicine, Sub-I Wards, Sub-I ICU

30 weeks of elective time available

Bioethics Requirements Completion of Ethics Case Paper (should be completed during

third year) Completion of Ethics Grand Rounds (min. of 4 sessions total by

end of fourth year)

USMLE Step 2 CK and CS

Core Clerkships

One 4-week Wards SubinternshipOffered each period 9A (July) through 12A (April),

One 4-week Critical Care SubinternshipOffered each period 9A (July) through 12A (April),

One 4-week Emergency Medicine ClerkshipOffered each period 9A (July) through 12A (April)

Bioethics Requirement

Ethics case paper due in Yr 3: April 19, 2013

Four Ethics Grand Rounds must be completed cumulatively over 2nd, 3rd and 4th years

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

Fourth Yr Track System

Assigned to track by lottery

Computer generated lottery number

Rank order all tracks

Deadline to submit rank form is Friday, February 8, 2013

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

Attendance Limited time off for serious reasons in both subinternships and

emergency medicine (3 days including weekend days)

Final exam schedule is NOT changeable

Plan holiday or interview travel after only determining the date and 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

Clerkship Requirements

Purpose and Assignment Process

Subinternships

4-weeks: in-pt medicine (“Sub-I Wards”) Examples of services: Gen med, OB, Cardiology,

Hem/Onc, Surgery, Peds Loyola, Gottlieb, Hines, West Sub

4-weeks: intensive care unit (“Sub-I ICU”) Examples of services: MICU, SICU, BICU, CCU,

NICU, PICU Loyola, Central Dupage, Hines, Resurrection, West

Sub

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 is not on the specialty

Thus, subinternships are posted on SSOM transcript without specialty noted (transcript reads only “Subintern-Wards” and “Subintern-ICU”)

Subinternship assignments

Opportunity will be provided to submit preference rank lists for site/service

Assignments by lottery to services and sites by late winter through Dr. Leischner’s office (separate lottery process, using track rank list in reverse order)

Rescheduling Sub-I

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 approved by Debi Kurcab in the Med Dept. and reported to Registration and Records

ELECTIVES

Policies & registration process

Purpose of elective curriculum

How to design your program

Electives Course Descriptions online in SSOM Elective Catalog

Most electives are 4 weeks in length

There are several 2-week electives available

26 weeks of elective time in years 3 and 4 = minimum graduation requirement

Of the 26 weeks, your elective program must include 5 full-time electives that are at least 4-weeks in length, i.e. 20 weeks of 4-week electives.

Electives (continued)

12 weeks of elective time permitted away (“extramurals”)

12 weeks permitted in any specialty (in M4 year) Excludes time in core clerkships in the specialty Excludes M3-year elective Includes electives at Loyola and away Includes clinical and research courses

Other elective policies in catalog preface

Purpose of Electives

Broadens & strengthens clinical experience

Tests interest in an area of specialization

Provides research or special opportunities

Permits self determination and responsibility for content of program

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 and ask questions

Talk to faculty in your field(s) of interest

See Dean Mendez for input

Attend Students Advising Students (SAS) programs

4th Year Goals by Season

Focus of each quarter Summer Fall Winter Spring

Summer Goals (July/Aug/Sept)

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 to study weeks/month for USMLE Step 2 prep

Preparation of residency application starts

Externships start

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

Fall Goals (Oct/Nov/Dec)

Externships continue

Residency interview season kicks in; will you need time off? Should you take DT?

Should you plan an away elective that geographically places 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)

Winter Goals (Jan/Feb/Mar)

Take courses to round out your education

Prepare for starting a residency (what do you still need to learn?)

Rank residencies for match (mid Jan - late Feb)

International elective?

Spring Goals (Apr/May)

Take enrichment courses

International elective? (more details will be given at April information session)

Take residency prep electives offered at SSOM

Get tuition’s worth by staying enrolled

Take DT for personal/transitional use

Complete graduation requirements

Graduate!!!

Elective Registration Process

How & When to Register

Elective RegistrationIntramurals (Loyola)

Review course descriptions & policies in elective catalog online

Online elective registration through myLUMEN

Sign up starts about 4 months in advance of each elective month’s start date

More info from ORR closer to first opening registration date (1st week of March)

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 SITE’S SIGN UP DATE!

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 and perhaps get a recommendation letter

To assess a program’s compatibility with your needs

To do unique non-hospital based experiences

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!

Extramural Registration

Review policies in SSOM catalog Review visiting student policies on other

school’s website Application

online: Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) OR

paper: application packet submitted through SSOM Reg & Rec

Please don’t do both unless you have verified with school that they require this (yes, a small handful are crazy and want both online and paper applications)

Visiting Student Application Service Developed by AAMC

Greater than 3/4th 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/start.htm for a list of schools using VSAS (will be updated for ’13-14 year in late January).

More info about VSAS forthcoming from Registration & Records

Registration & Records will upload transcripts and certify applications

Registration & Records will “Release” applications on VSAS

Extramural Registrationfor schools not using VSAS Complete Loyola’s extramural application AND

Complete other institution’s 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

Extramural Registrationadditional documentation (submitted via VSAS or by paper)

Proof of liability coverage

Current immunization record

Proof of UP/OSHA/HIPAA training

Proof of hospitalization insurance

Possibly SSOM transcript

Possibly faculty/dean’s letter of recommendation

Possibly criminal background check record

Possibly affiliation agreement? Memo of Understanding?

Typical Supporting documents

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 institution’s policy, typically 4 – 6 weeks prior.

Discretionary Time Use Time for Additional Elective Opportunities OR

For USMLE Step 2 study time

Residency Interview time off

For extramural calendar adjustment (other school’s calendar doesn’t match Stritch’s)

For remediation needs

For personal needs

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

USMLE STEP 2 CK & CS

First attempt CK & CS exams be taken by the end of semester 1 of fourth year (i.e., by December 31, 2013)

Residencies programs increasingly want proof of Step 2 score or if not score proof of passing before ranking candidates (i.e., score needed by end of January 2014)

USMLE Step 2 CK & CS must be PASSED to graduate and scores must be reported at least two month prior to graduation, approx mid-March 2014.

USMLE Step 2 planning: Residency considerations

If exam is taken before Aug. 30, scores are out before interviews are offered

If exam is taken on or before end of Nov., scores are out during interview season and before residencies make rank decisions

Exams taken in January do not meet school graduation requirement and will not be available to residencies prior to their ranking (not recommended)

USMLE Step 2 CK & CS timing CK:

Scores reported approx 4-6 weeks after test date.

CS: Scores are reported according to a block schedule:

http://www.usmle.org/step-2-cs/#reporting

June 1 – July 13 Reported Aug 14 – Sept 11, 2013July 14 – Sept 7 Reported Oct 9 – Nov 6, 2013Sept 8 - Nov 2 Reported Dec 4, 2013 - Jan 1, 2014Nov 3 - Dec 31 Reported Jan 29 - Feb 19, 2014

Note: USMLE offers no CS testing May 19 – May 31, 2013

Residency Planning

You may want to know now…

Residency Letters of Recommendation

Up to 4 letters for ERAS/NRMP programs; often only 3 are requested.

Up to three for early match programs

Request letters when opportunities present themselves

Submitted by writer to Student Affairs with 2013 ERAS cover letter in June – mid-Sept (cover letter available in June)

CV and Personal Statement

Feedback on CV’s recently submitted

May submit updated copy for Dean’s Letter use (exact due date this spring TBA)

Personal paragraph needed for dean’s letter – (exact due date this spring TBA; instructions will be provided

Online Resources Loyola Elective Catalog: http://stritch.luc.edu/depts/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/step-2-ck/

Visiting Student Application Service: https://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/vsas/

Careers in Medicine: http://www.aamc.org/cim

Future Workshops

Dean’s Letter Process February 18th in the evening

The Match & ERAS (E-residency application service) April 17th following PCM3 sessions

Ask Questions!

It is acceptable, expected, smart Where:

Registration & Records (changing your schedule, 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)

Submitting your Track Preferences• Go to myLUMEN>Clerkship Tracking Sys.> Fourth Year Track Ranking Form

• If you encounter any problems, contact Julie Steinecker (jsteinecker@lumc.edu)

Ranking Form submission deadline is Friday, February 8, 2013

Questions?