The clerkship curriculum consists of 48 weeks of instruction – 40 weeks across eight required clerkships and a two 4-week elective blocks. Additionally, all students participate in Practice of Medicine III which includes the Introduction to Clerkships and four day-long sessions scheduled throughout the academic year.

Core Medicine (MEDC 530)

The Core Medicine Clerkship is an 8-week rotation consisting of two 4-week inpatient experiences. Students work as part of a health care team caring for adult patients with complex, undifferentiated medical illnesses. Students are assigned to two of 6 hospitals representing University, VA, and community sites. Students are provided with daily teaching rounds with assigned faculty and supervisory residents and attend conferences on a variety of Internal Medicine topics. 

Core Surgery (GSUR 530)

The Core Surgery Clerkship is an 8-week rotation during which students will obtain the necessary surgical knowledge and skills to prepare for their career as a physician. They will obtain this through participation in patient care in the clinical wards, operating room, trauma resuscitation unit, and outpatient clinics as well as specific lectures, small groups, and conferences. Based on their preferences, students are assigned one four-week general surgery rotation, one two-week subspecialty rotation and one two-week trauma rotation. Completion of case logs, CEX, H&P, consent and web-based procedure log will ensure a complete experience for all students.

Emergency Medicine (EMER 530)

Students will spend 4 weeks in the Emergency Department working clinical shifts with our Emergency Medicine Faculty. During this time, they will be supervised by Emergency Medicine faculty and residents taking care of patients in the Emergency Department. They will have 12-14 clinical shifts over that 4-week period which will include morning, evening, overnight, and weekend shifts. Students will receive a lecture series in the first week of the rotation and will have several lab experiences, including a procedure lab, suture lab, splint lab, and ultrasound lab. Students on emergency medicine rotations at all sites receive this lab and didactic experience. In addition to traditional didactic lectures and labs, students are also exposed to newer educational technologies, such as online lectures and interactive educational material. Students will attend mandatory resident conferences every Wednesday morning.  This may include simulation, cadaver lab, journal club, and a variety of Emergency Medicine topics.

Family Medicine (FAPH 530)

The Family Medicine Clerkship is a 4-week rotation during which students gain exposure to the breadth of the practice of family medicine. Based on student preferences and site availability, students are assigned to work at either our university-based faculty and residency practice or with a community preceptor. Students spend the majority of their rotation working in the outpatient setting alongside family physicians. Students are excused from their clinical obligations once weekly for didactics.

Neurology (NEUR 530A and NEUR 530B)

The Neurology Clerkship experience is divided into two 2-week blocks. Students complete one 2-week block during the OB/Gyn clerkship and the other 2-week block during the Pediatrics clerkship, for a total of 4 weeks of Neurology experience.  During these experiences, students will gain exposure to inpatient and outpatient neurological presentations. The goal is for students to gain neurological symptom-based and disease-specific knowledge. Based on their preferences, students are assigned to work at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the Baltimore VA Medical Center, or the University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute. Students may spend time on the inpatient general neurology service, inpatient stroke service, neurologic intensive care unit, inpatient consultation services, and/or outpatient subspecialty clinics. 

Obstetrics/Gynecology (OBST 530)

The Obstetrics & Gynecology Clerkship is a 6-week rotation during which students learn about all aspects of Women's Health. The Clerkship is divided into three 2-week blocks: Labor & Delivery, Gynecology Surgery, and Ambulatory Clinic. Students will work directly with patients alongside Residents and Faculty Midwives/Physicians in all of these settings. Participation will include deliveries, surgeries, and clinic visits. Students are excused from their clinical obligations for weekly didactics, routine Faculty Preceptor meetings, and an OSCE exam.

Pediatrics (PEDI 530)

The Pediatric Clerkship is a 6-week rotation introducing students to the clinical aspects of Pediatrics. Students will rotate through an inpatient unit, a pediatric emergency department or urgent care setting, the full-term nursery and an outpatient general pediatric practice. Opportunities for interdisciplinary involvement and pediatric subspecialty exposure as well as home visits with families of children with chronic illness are available. Didactic lecture sessions will be made available prior to the course and are posted on MedScope. Completion of patient logs, Aquifer cases and formally observed and submitted history & physicals ensure a complete experience for all students.

Psychiatry (PSYH 530)

The Psychiatry Clerkship is a 4-week rotation during which students gain exposure to the practice of Psychiatry. Students are assigned to work on one of the inpatient or consultation units at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the Baltimore VA Medical Center, Spring Grove Hospital Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, or Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, a free-standing psychiatric hospital. In order to ensure that students understand the breadth of Psychiatry, they have required experiences in outpatient psychiatry, Psychiatric Emergency Services, on-call shifts, and attend a 12-step meeting. Clinical work is supplemented by attendance at didactics, case conferences, and Departmental Grand Rounds.

Practice of Medicine-3 (MEDS 537)

The Practice of Medicine-3 (POM-3) course consists of the Introduction to Clerkships and 4 day-long sessions scheduled throughout the academic year. The POM-3 day-long sessions consist of in-person didactic and small group learning focused on topics that do not neatly fit into any specific clerkship. This includes interprofessional care, professionalism discussions, career development, and career advising.

The Advanced Clinical Curriculum consists of 32 weeks of instruction – two 4-week sub-internships, and six 4-week electives, and one 4-week Practice of Medicine-4 – Transition to Residency course.

Office of Student Affairs deans assist clerkship year students in selecting their advanced clinical year schedules to help toward programming a balanced, useful curriculum that fulfills the student's needs and also provides a thorough and varied medical education experience. The Office of Medical Education employs systems to ensure schedule requests are equitably awarded.

Ambulatory Requirement

Students must complete one 4-week block of coursework in an ambulatory experience. The curriculum committees have designated which courses fulfill this ambulatory graduation requirement. In addition to the clinical aspect of the ambulatory rotation, the students must complete designated curricular material to satisfy the ambulatory requirement. 

For further information contact Leah Millstein, M.D.

Subinternships

A subinternship is defined as a clinical experience in which the student is involved in direct patient care at an intern level, with appropriate and adequate supervision, and must demonstrate independent thinking and clinical decision making. Eight weeks (two 4-week rotations) are spent completing subinternships with students functioning at the intern level.

These rotations are offered within the University of Maryland Medical System and in approved affiliated hospitals.

Students may register for a subinternship once they have progressed to at least the fourth quarter of the third year and after they have met all prerequisites. Catalog

Electives

Students should select electives in a variety of specialties to add both breadth and depth to their curriculum. If participating in research electives, only one research elective in advanced clinical year will count toward graduation credit. Completion of the 2-month extensive research elective (RSCH 540) will count for 2 months of graduation credit. Also, up to 3 months of electives may be completed outside the UMB system. Additional off-campus courses in the advanced clinical year may be granted on request by the Clinical Years Committee. Two months of elective credit may be accrued through the preclerkship curriculum electives. All students must complete at least one clinical elective in the second semester of the advanced clinical year. Students may register for an off-campus elective once all prerequisites have been completed and they have progressed to at least the fourth quarter of the third year. Additional prerequisites may apply. Catalog

Transition to Residency

Students must complete 4 weeks of Practice of Medicine-4 – Transition to Residency in the spring of the Advanced Clinical Year. Most students will participate in a 4-week course consisting of 1 week of general boot camp followed by 3 weeks of specialty-specific boot camp sessions. The goal of this rotation is to prepare students for the first day of residency. Students pursuing certain surgical specialties are encouraged to complete the Surgery Boot Camp, offered in a separate block during the spring of the Advanced Clinical Year.  

International Electives

Many students are interested in participating in international electives for credit and for their own professional development in clinical and research environments. We support those experiences subject to review and approval by the School of Medicine. The quality of the educational experience and the safety of the site will factor significantly into the decision. Travel to countries with Department of State level 4 travel advisories will not be permitted. Level 3 subject to review by Bonnie Bissonette, Global Education Office, SMC Campus Center (410) 706-6331. Students should check for disease epidemics in their area of planned travel prior to final departure and should cancel or rearrange their plans if such a situation exists.

Along with an International Elective Request Form, students requesting permission for international studies must review the UMB International Travel Risk Policy, review and sign the Student Travel Release. To finalize the process, sign and return the letter Sample MMCIP Coverage Letter that you will receive, via email and return it to the OSA. All required materials must be returned to OSA at least four weeks prior to your departure.

Please visit the following pages for the required forms and more information on international electives:

• International Electives
• Pre-Travel Requirements
• Campus Resources
• Global Health Education Programs
• VSLO
• Funding Resources
• International Fellowships

Responsibilities of the University of Maryland School of Medicine: Clinical Learning Environment

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, herein referred to as UMSOM, has a responsibility to maintain a positive, respectful, and adequately resourced learning environment so that sound educational UMSOM medical student and visiting medical student, herein referred to as student(s), experiences can occur. Therefore, the UMSOM will provide students and faculty with access to appropriate resources for medical student education including:

• access to patients at the UMSOM affiliated facilities in an appropriately supervised environment, in which the students can complete the school’s curriculum
• student security badges or other required security access to patient care areas
• access and required training for medical students in the proper use of electronic medical records or paper charts, as applicable
• adequate access to computers with the ability to utilize the medical record and other healthcare technologies pertinent to patient care
• secure storage space for personal items of students when at UMSOM affiliated facilities
• access to call rooms, if necessary
• provisions for a safe work environment including access to a safe parking environment at UMSOM affiliated facilities.

The UMSOM will retain full authority and responsibility for patient care and quality standards, and will maintain a level of care which meets generally accepted standards conducive to satisfactory instruction. While in UMSOM affiliated facilities, students will have the status of trainees; are not to replace UMSOM staff; and, are not to render unsupervised patient care and/or services. All services rendered by students must have educational value and meet the goals of the medical education program. The UMSOM and its staff will provide such supervision of the educational and clinical activities as is reasonable and appropriate to the circumstances and to the student’s level of training.

Duty Hours

The policy for duty hours can be found at Monitoring-Student-Time---Policies-and-Procedures.pdf