Fourth Year

Fourth year consists entirely of elective clinical rotations and a four-week required Capstone course.

Philosophy of the electives program

The elective year allows students to develop a flexible, individualized program of study at a crucial time in the continuum of formal medical education. The elective year provides medical students the opportunity to:

• Advance clinical skills
• Refine educational and professional goals
• Explore areas of personal and professional interest
• Engage in one-on-one learning experiences with faculty mentors
• Participate in extramural clinical rotations or research projects

The program is administered by the Electives Office, a division of the Office of Medical Student Education. Please contact the Electives Office for more information.

Capstone

The 4th year Medical Student Capstone course is designed to complete the student’s preparation for internship. The course was created to provide the high value, practical knowledge and experiences required for a successful transition from medical student to intern. To accomplish this goal, we’ve created a curriculum that focuses on interactive didactic sessions in the morning which cover a broad spectrum of medicine and afternoon sessions which concentrate on procedural skills, acute care simulation, and intern skills workshops. Besides the general knowledge and skills that are covered in the main sessions, specialty-specific sessions are included which focus on giving students in specific career paths knowledge and skills particular to that specialty.

It is our hope that after this month rotation, the student will feel less anxious about beginning a career in medicine and will feel more prepared to face the challenges and thrills of patient care.