SCHEDULING POLICIES FOR FOURTH-YEAR ELECTIVES
GENERAL POLICIES:
- As specified in the Academic Policies of the School of Medicine, students are scheduled for required clinical clerkships during their third year. Any student wishing to delay a required clerkship until the fourth year must direct his/her request to the Assistant Dean for Curriculum.
- As noted in the Student Handbook, "Students are advised to complete all required clerkships and electives prior to their final quarter in medical school." Registration staff will not schedule students for required clerkships including Chronic Disease and Disability, and Trauma and Emergency Care during their final quarter of school. Students wishing to schedule required clerkships during their final quarter must discuss this with the Assistant Dean for Curriculum and may be required to petition the Student Progress Committee for approval.
- For students entering in 1990 or subsequent years, the graduation requirements specify that: Trauma and Emergency Care, 8 credits; Chronic Disease and Disability, 4 credits; and 48 credits of clinical electives must be completed before graduation, in addition to 122 HuBio course credits, 10 ISMS credits, including four non-clinical electives, and completion of the required clerkships: Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Family Medicine. [Please refer to pages 10 and 11 for the Graduation Requirements for the 1990 Entering Class and Subsequent Classes.]
- Fourth-year students are scheduled to take the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2 during Summer Quarter of their fourth year. Delay of Step 2 past September 30 is approved only in very unusual circumstances and requires the permission of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs on behalf of the Student Progress Committee.
- Students who have not submitted the ISMS progress report will be unable to schedule elective clerkships until such time as the progress report is submitted. These students are not assigned an elective scheduling appointment. Once the ISMS progress report has been turned in, an appointment is scheduled.
- As noted above, students must complete four credits of non-clinical electives. If this requirement has not yet been met, courses should be scheduled as soon as possible to meet this requirement.
- All clerkships begin on a Monday and end on a Friday per the clinical schedule. Holiday and weekend schedules are established by the clerkship faculty. Check with the department if in doubt about specific clinical schedules.
- Adding or dropping of clerkships begins with notification to the registration staff in Academic Affairs and is governed by the following policies:
- In order to drop or add a clerkship, you must do so at least 6 weeks prior to the beginning of the clerkship.
- In order to drop a WWAMI site or medicine subinternship, you must have another UW student replace you at that site for the period you were scheduled, and you must receive permission from the department and the Registrar. This includes students wishing to switch from one WWAMI site to another. The housing requirements of students swapping sites must be similar so that housing is not a problem.
- Rehabilitation Medicine requires that adds and drops of their clerkships be arranged at least one full month prior to the beginning of the quarter in which the clerkship occurs--e.g., August 25, 2000 for any REHAB clerkship scheduled in Autumn Quarter 2000.
- Emergency situations can occur and if you find yourself in a situation where you are unable to attend a scheduled course, please contact the Registrar as soon as possible.
- Each week of a full-time clerkship equals 2 credits. Credits for part-time courses vary per individual course based on hours per week of required attendance.
- All credits for a clerkship are applied to the quarter in which the clerkship begins--i.e., if a clerkship begins the last wto weeks of Winter Quarter and continues through the first two weeks of Spring Quarter, all 8 credits are counted as Winter Quarter for registration, financial aid, and tuition purposes.
- Each quarter the Registrar for the School of Medicine will register you for CONJ 699 for the number of credits (up to 13) that appear on your clinical schedule. Clinical courses on the official UW registration appear as "Conjoint 699" until grades are transmitted 6 weeks after the end of the quarter. Students who plan to take non-clinical electives should add them no later than the end of the first week of the quarter via the STAR phone registration system. Any scheduling changes that increase credits or reduce credits from full-time (13 credits) must be adjusted via the add/drop procedure. Any add/drops that occur after the first week of a quarter require a $20.00 late change fee.
CLINICAL SCHEDULE CHANGE APPOINTMENTS:
The registration staff is available to make changes to your clinical schedule Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. In addition, the Registrar is available to make clinical schedule changes on Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. These 15-minute appointments are drop-in or call-call, if you are out of town, and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Because scheduling involves a number of choices on your part, it is to your advantage to personally come in for your appointment if at all possible. Please go to their office or call (206) 543-5560.
CLINICAL ELECTIVES AT AWAY SITES WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF THE WWAMI AREA
The following are instructions and guidelines for pursuing clerkships at sites not established within the clinical curriculum both within and outside of the WWAMI area:
- After completing a minimum of three quarters of basic clinical clerkships, students make take clerkships at other institutions both within and outside of the WWAMI area.
- Students wishing to pursue an international elective during Winter and/or Spring Quarters of their final year must have completed all of the required clerkships and the ISMS requirement.
- Once a student has determined the site and nature of the proposed experience, he/she should contact Trudy Furberry to initiate the required forms. This should be done so that the required forms have received departmental approval and are returned to Trudy no later than two months prior to the proposed beginning date.
- Prior to taking these courses, students must first receive written approval from the department which has agreed to act as sponsor, then approval from the Academic Affairs Office which reviews the student's clinical experience, academic performance, and academic needs to ensure that the student is in good standing and has met all eligibility requirements.
- No more than twenty-four (24) approved credits taken away from the UW School of Medicine system will be counted toward graduation requirements, although credits taken in excess of 24 will appear on the student record. To earn credit, students must be registered at the UW for credit for the quarter in which this assignment is made. All arrangements must be completed before the student leaves the UW and must be in accordance with the regular scheduling deadlines established by Registration and Scheduling.
- Students are not covered by malpractice insurance unless they are formally enrolled for credit at the UW for the specific course in which they desire insurance.
- Credits earned in courses taken at institutions not affiliated with the UW and not located in the five-state WWAMI region taken during the Spring Quarter of a student's final year may NOT be counted toward fulfillment of the graduation requirement.
- Students may not take multiple away electives in the same specialty. If a student wishes to take more than one clerkship in any one discipline, or if a student wishes an exception to the 24 credit limit, he/she must have prior approval from the Academic Affairs Office.
- Retroactive credit may not be awarded for any courses or clerkship including those taken in this category.
- Students choosing elective courses at away sites are responsible for their own housing arrangements, travel scheduling, and all travel expenses.
RESIDENCY INTERVIEWS
Students should not expect to take time off from courses for residency interviews.
Keeping in mind the graduation requirements, especially the 48 clinical elective credits, fourth-year students should schedule time off from late November through mid-January for residency interviews.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF IMPORTANCE
- During the third and fourth year, electives may be taken during the June and December breaks.
- Enrollment for 13 or more credits is considered full-time for tuition purposes.
- Full-time status for financial aid purposes is 12 credits; however, see #4 below.
- The tuition amount built into the basic budget is for 13 or more credits per quarter. Students who are taking fewer than 13 credits need to notify our Financial Aid Office at (206) 685-2520 to determine if action is needed.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
- United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2: Summer 2001 (prior to September 30, 2001)
- ISMS Deadline: January 7, 2002
- Hooding: June 8, 2002
- Official UW Graduation; the date which appears on your diploma: June 14, 2002
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