COM – M4 Elective Policy

Policy Number: 3349-AC-424
Effective Date: 02/20/2019
Updated: 08/26/2019
Reviewed: —
Responsible Department: Office of the Dean and Medical Education, College of Medicine
Approval Authority:Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Responsible Office: Office of the Dean and Medical Education, College of Medicine

A. Purpose

To establish a Policy that specifies guidelines for students to pursue a broad range of interests during the M4 curriculum, in accordance with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). LCME requires that “the medical curriculum includes elective opportunities that supplement required learning experiences and that permit medical students to gain exposure to and deepen their understanding of medical specialties reflecting their career interests and to pursue their individual academic interests” (LCME Elective Opportunities, Element 6.5).

B. Scope

This Policy applies to all elective opportunities contained in the College of Medicine (COM) M4 curriculum, in which a final Grade is assigned to the student and appears on the student’s official transcript.

C. Policy Statement

1. Choice of Electives
   1. Students are required to take (three) 3 elective rotations in their fourth year. Students are encouraged to seek a range of opportunities outside of their chosen field by taking electives of their choice (at least two (2) of which must be clinical in nature and only one (1) may be a research/non-patient contact rotation). The Senior Director of Clinical Experiential Learning, COM and the M4 Schedule Advisors are responsible for overseeing this process.
   2. All experiential experiences not included in the NEOMED catalog must be approved by the Senior Director of Clinical Experiential Learning, COM prior to the student beginning the experience.

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