Y4 Helpful Hints and Suggestions

Helpful Hints and Suggestions

Class of 2018

  • PLEASE take the time to read the Year Four Policies and Procedures and Student Misconceptions. Also review important documents online.
  • Browse through the Electives Catalog (a few times and make a list of the courses that interest you.
  • Make sure you register for enough courses to fulfill graduation requirements.
  • Have your list of choices with you when you meet with your Elective Advisor.
  • The Christmas/New Year weeks (wks 25-26) are not automatic weeks off. If you wish to have them off, please request them as vacation.
  • Start inquiring about off-campus electives now. The library has a website (http://www.siumed.edu/lib/ref/off-campus-electives.html) of other schools' elective offerings. Also, most schools are now using VSAS and/or you may locate their catalogs on the internet.
  • Don’t be afraid to make requests for Individually-Designed electives. Procedure to be followed is included in the Y4 Policies & Procedures (6.0).
  • You MUST have approval before beginning an Individually-Designed or Extramural Elective or you will not receive credit. Individually Designed/Extramural Elective is additional SIUSOM required paperwork.
  • VSAS online submission is not a substitute for the Individually-Designed/Extramural Elective paperwork; all forms are required.
  • There will be changes/additions/deletions/corrections in the Elective Catalog. ASK us instead of relying on word-of-mouth. We will send notifications to you via email to alert you to changes as they occur.
  • If you are ill (or experiencing an emergency situation) and are not coming in, call your elective responsible faculty and the Y3/4 Registrar to let them know.
  • Make sure that you are familiar with the Add/Drop policy/procedures.
  • Student feedback from electives in past years on each course is in the library and posted on the web (use your email username and password to access this). The link is located on the Year Four Curriculum webpage.
  • Administration and Faculty RELY on e-mail and your student mailbox. Try to check both daily. You are responsible for any information sent to you either way.
  • Here are some bits of information that you may find helpful in considering your choices. You can call Cherie (545-6124) with any scheduling questions you have. Some courses are only offered once or twice during the year - consider these when scheduling vacation and/or off-campus time:
    • Statistics in Medical Research
    • Advanced Therapeutics
    • Medical Students as Teachers (this is 2-part course; must request both: full time two week, AND extended, one 5-week block)
    • International Health & Tropical Medicine – see Dr. Agamah prior to requesting
    • Residency Readiness Electives (Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics Gynecology, Radiology, and Surgery)
  • Popular electives with limited enrollment - consider this when prioritizing.
    • Clinical EKG
    • Emergency Medicine/Springfield
    • FP Subinternship/Springfield
    • Intensive Care/Springfield
    • Ambulatory Pediatrics Preceptorship
    • Pediatrics Sub I
    • Pediatric General Surgery
    • Clinical Hospital OB Sub I
    • General Surgery Externship

 

  • Remember - course enrollment minimums/maximums and closed weeks (as indicated by faculty) will be enforced.
  • Some courses do not have dates available yet (ACLS, etc.) and some courses may include additional dates later in the year. These will be posted as they become available, and you will have to fill out add slips for them at that time.
  • There are three categories of electives: Intensive Clinical Electives, Basic Science Electives, and Traditional Electives. Be sure to carefully check the Electives Catalog for the Class of 2018.
  • Also, some courses are offered as full-time, half-time, and extended. Make sure to register for the correct course you want to be enrolled.
    • Full-time courses end in a 3,
    • Half-time courses end in 1 or 2,
    • Extended courses end in a 4.
  • When scheduling vacation time and/or off-campus electives, keep in mind that the 2- and 4- week electives will normally begin on odd numbered weeks.
  • ACLS - You are responsible for the enrollment fee for this course.
    • For more information about the ACLS course, please contact Jessica Rakes (217-788-3787 or rakes.jessica@mhsil.com) in the Education Department at MMC. ACLS courses are also offered at St. John’s Hospital; contact Janet Mansholt (544-6464, Ext. 44011).
    • In addition to registering at the hospitals, you will also need to schedule the ACLS course using an Add/Drop form signed by SIUSOM Responsible Faculty (or secure approval via email) to ensure the course appears on your schedule/transcript and you receive the appropriate credit.
  • Some electives require permission from the faculty before you can register. This requirement is noted in the course description as “WPI” (With Permission of Instructor). If you want to take one of those courses, you must submit written permission (use WPI form) or e-mail from the faculty to Cherie Forsyth before you can register for that elective.
  • Electives requiring travel to foreign countries will not be added to your schedule until you have completed a required meeting with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs AT LEAST six weeks prior to the start date. No credit will be given if this requirement is not fulfilled by this deadline.
  • All Individually-Designed and Extramural Electives will require a 2-page reflective report, or in the case of an elective with a clinical component, a 1-page reflective report and logbook record of patient encounters.
  • Preceptorships - Read the description carefully, as there are some Preceptorships that require you to make your own arrangements, while others will assign you to a faculty attending. Either way, you will still have to get Add slip signed by course faculty. Please make sure you read and follow the instructions for the course you are taking.
  • Elective Feedback forms must be submitted at the end of each elective. The forms are on the Year Four Curriculum Webpage, Online Forms, Year 4 Student Evaluation of Elective. You will not receive credit for any elective experience until you have filled out and submitted your feedback form AND the faculty member has returned your evaluation form indicating that you have satisfactorily completed all of the elective requirements. If the elective is an Individually Designed Elective (IDE) and/or Extramural Elective (away) your report and logbook must also be submitted before credit will be awarded.
  • Remember to contact each elective faculty ahead of your scheduled start times (see Notification Requirement in catalog course description or online: Comprehensive Elective Offerings – AY2017-2018). This is YOUR responsibility.

 

Revised: 170310