Office of Educational Programs

Policy

MMS students are required to complete 7 electives (28 weeks) during the MS4 year. Students can complete electives as either a traditional 4-week elective or as a 2-week mini elective (see Policy on Fourth Year Mini-Electives).

Elective Restrictions:

• Can do no more than 4 electives (16 weeks) in one specialty
• Can do no more than 2 blocks of research (8 weeks) unless an MD/PhD student or are in the Academic Career Focus Track

Policies Regarding Time Off

Holidays: July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Friday following Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, January 1, Match Day and Memorial Day.

The School’s policy regarding time off for interviewing for residency programs (not for general use) allows a maximum of five days from an elective to be granted at the discretion of the course director. Students wishing to be excused for any days must obtain approval from both OASA and the course director in advance. Students missing any days should be prepared to make up time and work missed.

Creating a New Elective

To create and build an elective, the offering department must submit a MMS Fourth Year Elective Description Form to the Office of Educational Programs to be reviewed by the Curriculum Committee. Once approved by the Curriculum Committee, the information will be included in the official course catalog description and disseminated accordingly:

• Office of the Registrar
• MS4 Elective Course Catalog

Guidelines for Fourth Year Electives

1. The objectives of the elective are defined and indicated by specific topics the body of knowledge to be mastered. It is strongly recommended that these be given to students in writing at the
   beginning of the elective period. The clinical and didactic experiences planned for the course must be designed to accomplish the objectives.
2. The elective involves at least 30 hours per week of time with at least 10 hours structured (clinical, conference, lecture).
3. The elective involves significant teaching by faculty.
4. At least five hours of teaching per week are aimed at the MS4 level.
5. The students are evaluated based on the demonstration of their accomplishment of the objectives.
6. Students are observed closely enough by faculty to evaluate their performance meaningfully.
7. Mid-rotation feedback is encouraged for all students, but feedback in writing is required for any students identified as having deficiencies, as soon as the deficiency is identified.