The Advanced Clinical Phase

As you design your advanced phase schedule, it is essential to ensure all graduation requirements are met. Our team provides guidance to help you thoughtfully select courses, track required experiences, and stay on pace for successful and timely completion of your degree.

SOM Renaissance Curriculum Graduation Requirements | medschool.umaryland.edu/graduation-requirements

• We recommend that you use the Degree Works Dashboard to plan your schedule, track your progress and ensure you are meeting graduation requirements. 
• Use the Graduation Requirements Worksheet to ensure you are meeting all requirements.

 

Sub-Internships (Sub-Is)

A Sub-Internship (Sub-I) is an advanced clinical rotation that allows students to function at a level similar to an intern, with increased responsibility in patient care, clinical decision-making, and team communication. These rotations provide valuable hands-on experience within a chosen specialty and offer an opportunity to demonstrate readiness for residency. Sub-Internships are especially important for skill development, professional growth, and often serve as key settings where students secure strong letters of recommendation for their residency applications.

Consider SubI and Elective Rotations that may align with your specialty of interest.

Advanced Phase Electives

Advanced phase electives allow students to deepen their clinical knowledge, explore specialty interests, and tailor their education to align with career goals. These rotations provide focused exposure, skill refinement, and opportunities to build relationships with faculty and mentors. In some specialties, an advanced elective serves as the primary capstone clinical experience rather than a traditional Sub-Internship, making these rotations especially important for demonstrating interest and readiness for residency.

Electives may be:

• on-campus = intramural electives
• off-campus = extramural or away rotations

Consider SubI and Elective Rotations that may align with your specialty of interest.

USMLE Step 2

Students are required to take the USMLE Step 2 examination during the Advanced Clinical Phase, sometime after the completion of clerkships and prior to graduation. We strongly recommend students take Step 2 shortly after completing the core clerkships and no later than August 1, to ensure scores are available to programs to residency programs when applications are sent at the end of September. USMLE estimates students should expect results to be available 4-8 weeks after the exam.

Resources:

More information and resources are available from the Office of Medical Education| Academic Development.

United States Medical Licensing Examination Information| USMLE.org

Information regarding scheduling including resources, policies and procedures can be found in the Academic Handbook – “Clinical Scheduling and Sites”