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Education » MD Program » Curriculum » 3rd Year Students » Clerkship Information

Clerkship Information

Prerequisites for Entering Clerkships

Capstone I: Transition to Clerkship

Capstone II: Transition to Residency

Clerkship Coordinators

Clerkship Health Insurance

Clerkship Registration

Student Travel to Clerkships

Clerkship Website Portal

 

Definitions:

Away ClerkshipWWAMI - an elective clinical rotation/clerkship scheduled with a facility that is not affiliated with the UWSOM and is located within our five state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho).  A non-WWAMI Away Clerkship is an elective clinical rotation/clerkship scheduled with a facility that is not affiliated with the UWSOM and is located outside our five state WWAMI region (eg International elective).  All elective away clerkships must be approved by the UWSOM specialty department through an application process if students wish to receive credit.  If students are not registered for an approved Away Clerkship liability insurance is not offered nor do students receive credit.  The application process takes a minimum of two months and must be completed prior to registration and beginning the rotation.

 

Clerkship:  (Required or Elective Clerkship) a course of clinical medical training in a specialty offered for 2, 4, 6, or 12 week rotations taken during the third and fourth years of medical school.  The third year primarily consists of the required clinical clerkships. The required third year clerkships are in Family Medicine (6 week rotation), Internal Medicine (12 week rotation), Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 week rotation), Pediatrics (6 week rotation), Psychiatry (6 week rotation), and Surgery (6 week rotation).   Rehabilitation Medicine/Chronic Care (4 week rotation), Emergency Medicine (4 week rotation), Neurology (4 week rotation) and an additional four-week selective in General Surgery or a surgical subspecialty are also required and may be taken in the third or fourth year. 

 

Because of the regional nature of the School and the value of seeing health care delivered in different settings, it is expected that ALL students will take at least three clerkships outside the Seattle area. There are six weeks allocated to electives in the third year, however, most of the clinical elective clerkships are taken in the fourth year.  During the fourth year, students typically schedule rotations that permit advanced coursework in areas of specialty interest and that provide a broad general medical education in preparation for assuming patient care responsibility during residency training.

 

Clinical Elective: an Elective Clerkship performed in the clinical setting, generally taken during the 4th year of medical school.  Students typically request rotations that permit advanced coursework in areas of specialty interest and provide a broad general medical education in preparation for assuming patient care responsibility during residency training.   A total of 16 weeks/32 credits of clinical electives are required for graduation.

 

Clinical Selective:  not a term used by UWSOM, refer to Required Clerkships

 

Externship:  not a term used by UWSOM, refer to Away Clerkship.

 

Fellowship:  is the period of medical training that a physician may undertake after completing a specialty training program. During this time (usually more than one year), the physician is known as a fellow. Fellows are capable of acting as attending physician or consultant physician in the generalist field in which they were trained, such as internal medicine or pediatrics. After completing a fellowship in the relevant sub-specialty, the physician is permitted to practice without direct supervision by other physicians in that sub-specialty, such as cardiology or oncology.

 

IHOP: The International Health Group sponsors the International Health Opportunities Program which provides early international immersion and public health experiences in health care settings to medical students between their first and second year.

 

Internship:  a period of clinical service generally taken during the first year of residency, also referred to as PG-Y1 or R1.

 

Non-Clinical Elective:  An elective course that occurs in a non-clinical setting (eg Ethics or Global Health course).

 

Non-Clinical Selective:  Special electives relevant to medical education, not involving direct patient care, that have been approved by the School of Medicine, which fulfill the graduation requirement of 4 credits required during the first two years of medical school.  Students must complete all non-clinical selective requirements prior to entering the clinical curriculum.  Only pre-approved electives count toward the non-clinical selective requirement.  WWAMI-Based Non-Clinical Selectives

 

Pathway - UWSOM has created four Pathways that offer students the opportunity to pursue their interest and develop knowledge and skills specifically tailored to working with vulnerable populations here and abroad:  The Hispanic Health Pathway, the Indian Health Pathway, the Global Health Pathway, and the Underserved Pathway.  Each Pathway allows students to: organize their courses, clinical rotations, and volunteer opportunities around a particular community, population, or aspect of underserved medicine, as well as to explore career interests with mentorship from faculty, staff, and community providers and partners who share those interests.  Students may participate in a Pathway’s offerings without completing all the Pathway requirements and may participate in and/or complete more than one Pathway.  Completion of a Pathway will be recognized in students' Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) and with a certificate at Graduation.  The four Pathways are coordinated, sharing resources, ideas, and the vision of encouraging careers with underserved, diverse populations.

Preceptorship:  a period of training under a preceptor.  Preceptor: a practicing physician who gives personal instruction, training, and supervision to a medical student.  A preceptorship experience during the first two years of medical school is a ‘mentoring experience’.  It is recommended that at least one preceptorship experience is with a physician in primary care (Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, or Pediatrics).  During a preclinical preceptorship it is hoped that students will have the opportunity to follow a patient over time.  Students are required to complete a preceptorship during the first year of the basic science curriculum.  Students need to complete a minimum of 8 four-hour sessions with a preceptor. Students may enroll in preceptorships in Autumn, Winter, and/or Spring Quarters or Fall and Spring Semesters.   Students are encouraged to take more than one preceptorships during their first and second years in primary care and specialty fields.  Students are required to register for all preceptorships.

 

R/UOP The Rural/Underserved opportunities Program (R/UOP) is a four-week, elective immersion experience in community medicine for students between their first and second years of medical school. During their 4-week rotation, students live in rural or urban underserved communities throughout Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI ). They work side-by-side with local physicians providing health care to underserved populations. Administered by the UW Department of Family Medicine, R/UOP is a collaborative effort of the UW School of Medicine, WWAMI campuses and the Area Health Education Centers

 

Selective: see Clinical Selective or  Non-Clinical Selective

 

SMDEP:  The Summer Medical Dental Education Program (SMDEP) is a six-week enrichment program for talented underrepresented students interested in medicine or dentistry. It is designed to meet two important objectives including exposure to the fields of medicine/dentistry and an academic component addressing test taking skills, time and stress management.

State TRACK – (also referred to as WWAMI Track) a select group of required clerkships scheduled in one specific site/state throughout the WWAMI region.  Medical students must participate in an application process, whereby select students are matched to State TRACK sites to fulfill their third or fourth year required clerkships.  Students must complete 5 out of the 6 third year required clerkships or all of the fourth year required clerkships at one State TRACK location depending on whether the site offers a third or fourth year State TRACK option.

 

Sub-Internship (subI):  an advanced clerkship in a given department; generally taken during the fourth year of medical school involving a high level of patient care responsibility.  The student selecting the sub internship will be responsible for the same activities stated in the clerkship with the additional duties of managing inpatient workups and therapeutic plans.  There are generally registration requirements and restrictions with subI rotations.

 

Surgery Selectives:  Clinical selectives that have been approved by the Surgery Department Director that meet graduation requirements.  These additional four weeks of surgery are designed to allow students to learn more about general surgery or surgical subspecialties in a variety of inpatient and/or ambulatory care settings. Students may select a single 4-week rotation or two 2-week blocks available throughout the WWAMI region during their third or fourth year of medical school. 

 

Track scheduleone of several curricula of study to which students are assigned according to their needs or levels of ability; the list of required clerkships a medical student is registered for in a given order.  A third tear track schedule refers to the order and location in which a student is registered to take their required third year clerkships.  A fourth year track schedule refers the order and location in which a student is registered to take their required fourth year clerkships. 

 

UDOC:  a high school summer enrichment program that seeks to foster, affirm and encourage student interest in the healthcare professions.

 

WRITE WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience - The WRITE Program is a 20-week rural clinical medical training experience in which medical students must participate in an application process, where select students are matched to specific WRITE sites.  During the student’s third year and prior to embarking on the WRITE experience, they will complete: 8 weeks of Inpatient Internal Medicine, 6 weeks of Surgery, 6 weeks of OB/GYN, 3 weeks of Psychiatry/Behavioral Sciences, 3 weeks of Pediatrics in Seattle.  The students will then report to their selected WRITE site where they must complete their remaining 20 weeks of third-year requirements, including: 6 weeks of Family Medicine, 4 weeks of Outpatient Internal Medicine, 3 weeks of Psychiatry/Behavioral Sciences, 3 weeks of Pediatrics, 4 weeks of an elective experience in Family Medicine, A Community Service Project.  Following the WRITE site experience, students are ready to begin their fourth year and complete their remaining clinical requirements.

 

 

 

 

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Contact Info  Inquiries contact: Angie Wick email: angwick@u.washington.edu

 

 

 

 

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