I.Guidelines.html

The University of Arizona College of Medicine offers a wide variety of fourth-year electives for medical students. Opportunities for elective courses are available across the state and internationally. Most of these electives are divided between the two major cities in Arizona: Tucson, with the vast majority of these electives at University Medical Center (UMC) and at Tucson Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC); and Phoenix, where many of the electives are offered at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix Children's Hospital and at the Phoenix VAMC. To facilitate ease in the use of this Electives Manual, electives for the Tucson and Phoenix areas have been placed in separate sections. All requests to enroll in elective courses must be submitted to the Student Records Office at the College of Medicine.

Plan to schedule two meetings with your clinical advisor: one early, while you are doing initial planning for the year, and a second meeting later to get final approval of your program. While other faculty members will be glad to assist you in schedule planning, your clinical advisor must serve as your primary consultant. Your advisor has access to your academic records and therefore is invaluable in pointing out ways to capitalize on your strengths, and to advise you on preparation for your career choice. You would be wise to consider residency possibilities in planning your senior schedule. Contact your clinical advisor prior to the deadline for returning materials, because your clinical advisor must approve and sign your final schedule.

A scheduling plan has been developed for the electives year. This plan is diagrammed on the next page with three sample schedules given for clarification.

Please note that Year IV is divided into four modules of 12 instructional weeks each, with the exception of the final module, which is only nine weeks in length and culminates with graduation. Each 12-week module is further sub-divided into six-week sections (identified by the letters "A" or "B"), four-week sections (identified by the letters "X", "Y" or "Z") or three-week sections (identified by "A-1", "A-2", "B-1" and "B-2"). Elective periods are identified by module number and section number, i.e., the first four-week elective is "1-X". Reviewing the sample schedules should make this information clear.

Excluding the two-week Winter Break period and the week of graduation, there are 45 instructional weeks between June 15, 1998 and graduation on May 15, 1999. You should complete the minimum of 33 elective weeks (one week = one unit) in an approved program before graduation. Thus, there are 12 weeks of discretionary time available during this year, which you may use as you wish for such activities as vacation, residency interviewing and other non-credit activities. You may take additional electives during the discretionary time at no extra tuition charge.

There are two possible interruptions to the elective year. Elective courses that are interrupted by the Winter Break will continue in January. In addition, you may continue to participate in elective experiences that are interrupted by graduation.

At least 18 of the 33 required electives units in which you enroll must be "patient care" electives. Also, at least 18 of these units must be under the direct supervision of a University of Arizona College of Medicine faculty member. These distinctions are discussed in detail in a following section.

All elective courses, with the exception of classroom based electives, must be taken for a minimum time period of three weeks. Prior approval of the course director is required to enroll in a non-classroom-based elective for a period of less than three weeks. Elective course listings also indicate the maximum number of weeks the elective may be taken for credit. Students may enroll in electives supervised by University of Arizona faculty only during the time periods specified in this
Electives Manual. However, you may enroll in an elective at another medical school for a period that does not correspond to the periods specified in this Electives Manual; for example, you may arrange to take a four-week elective elsewhere from August 1 through August 31 using vacation time before and after the elective.

6-week periods		4-week periods		3-week periods
1-A	06/15/98-07/24/98	1-X	06/15/98-07/10/98	1-A-1	06/15/98-07/03/98
1-B	07/27/98-09/04/98	1-Y	07/13/98-08/07/98	1-A-2	07/06/98-07/24/98
		1-Z	08/10/98-09/04/98	1-B-1	07/27/98-08/14/98
				1-B-2	08/17/98-09/04/98

2-A	09/07/98-10/16/98	2-X	09/07/98-10/02/98	2-A-1	09/07/98-09/25/98
2-B	10/19/98-11/27/98	2-Y	10/05/98-10/30/98	2-A-2	09/28/98-10/16/98
		2-Z	11/02/98-11/27/98	2-B-1	10/19/98-11/06/98
				2-B-2	11/09/98-11/27/98

3-A	11/30/98-01/22/99	3-X	11/30/98-01/08/99	3-A-1	11/30/98-12/18/98
3-B	01/25/99-03/05/99	3-Y	01/11/99-02/05/99	3-A-2	01/04/99-01/22/99
		3-Z	02/08/99-03/05/99	3-B-1	01/25/99-02/12/99
				3-B-2	02/15/99-03/05/99

4-A	03/08/99-04/16/99	4-X	03/08/99-04/02/99	4-A-1	03/08/99-03/26/99
4-B	(none)	4-Y	04/05/99-04/30/99	4-A-2	03/29/99-04/16/99
		4-Z	(none)	4-B-1	04/19/99-05/07/99
				4-B-2	(none)

An electives classification method is in use that clarifies the policies and graduation requirements.

Patient Care vs. Non-Patient Care Electives. Students are required to complete at least 18 units of electives that involve patient contact and providing patient care. The remainder of the required 33 elective units may or may not be patient care electives. Each elective in this Electives Manual is classified as to whether it is "patient care." Electives that are not patient care include research, independent study and seminars; that is, anything that is not the direct care of patients.

Seminar electives are a special kind of academic experience. Most seminars are offered during a six-week period in the spring (Period 4-A, 3/08/99-4/16/99), although some are offered at other times. You may register for three of these two-unit seminars as your entire course of study for this six-week period or combine one or two seminars with part-time vacation. Seminars may not be taken simultaneously with other electives.

Directly Supervised vs. Not Directly Supervised Electives. Of the 33 required electives units, at least 18 must be directly supervised by a University of Arizona College of Medicine faculty member. Under each course listing in this Electives Manual, the department has classified each elective as being either "directly supervised" or "not directly supervised."

Not Directly Supervised. Prior Approval vs. Approval Needed Electives. Electives that are not directly supervised by University of Arizona faculty, but about which our faculty has a great deal of information based on a long history of positive interaction, have been established as "Prior Approval" electives. These are experiences for which no approvals are necessary other than your advisor's signature. Other electives not supervised by our faculty are designated in this Electives Manual as "Approval Needed" electives. These require a University of Arizona faculty sponsor. That sponsor must belong to The University of Arizona department parallel to the department in which the elective is to be taken. Sample approval forms are illustrated in Section IX of this Electives Manual. This requirement insures departmental review of these electives, because the department must attest to the educational worth of the experience and award the student elective credit for it.

Due to the number of students involved in electives and the numerical limits on participants, changes after schedules are finalized in the Dean's Office will be extremely difficult to make and sometimes impossible. If a change becomes necessary after the academic year has begun, students must adhere to the following rules:

1. All schedule changes must be completed three weeks prior to the start of the elective. The Change of Schedule form must be used both to drop and add any elective and should be returned to the Student Records Office. This form requires the personal signatures of your clinical advisor, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and all preceptors involved and, in some cases, Departmental Electives Coordinators. Although schedule changes are not encouraged, if a change is necessary, students should begin the process well in advance.

2. In order to maintain the credibility of our students at external sites, College of Medicine students must have a history of honoring their commitments. Therefore, electives not directly supervised by our faculty may not be dropped once final arrangements have been made except with the written permission of both the external institution and The University of Arizona sponsoring department. Electives that involve primary patient responsibility, such as the Medicine subinternship at the VAMC, may not be changed after schedules have been finalized unless a student finds a suitable student to take one's place. These electives rely on students to assist in patient care and each student's participation is necessary. (Most Phoenix electives involve patient care.)

3. Unless the number of students who register for a given seminar is well over the minimum number required, no drops will be allowed since this might lead to cancellation of the seminar and disruption of the schedules of other students.

4. All enrollment paperwork must be in order before a student participates in that elective. If students are not registered for electives, they will not get credit for them even if they had the preceptor's approval and have completed the work. Do not participate in an elective before getting it approved and formally registering for it.

In order to maximize your learning, it is important that you receive feedback on your performance during the elective as well as at the end. While this feedback generally is forthcoming, occasionally you must make a specific request.

At the completion of each elective taken in the College of Medicine, the instructor responsible for the elective writes a narrative description of your performance and assigns a grade. These become part of your academic file. Please review the assessment written by your instructor and discuss it with him/her, a process intended to help you develop the self-assessment skills that will be vital to your continuing medical education. The "Evaluation of Student Progress" form has a space for your signature, which indicates only that you have seen the assessment, not that you necessarily agree with it. You should also expect to receive a copy of the assessment. If it is not offered, feel free to ask.

The Curriculum Committee requires that students in electives return a completed course evaluation for each elective taken for credit. The rating data on the front of the feedback form will be compiled confidentially by the Division of Academic Resources for the Curriculum Committee. The comments on the back of the form, which should not be considered confidential for electives with small enrollments, will be photocopied and returned to the course director. These feedback forms entitled "Electives Feedback from Students" are available from all Departmental Electives Coordinators, the Division of Academic Resources and the Student Records Office. This form must be completed in addition to any forms used by the department and returned to the Student Records Office, because the Curriculum Committee needs to receive comparable evaluation data for all electives.

Please legibly complete the course information at the top of the form and return forms immediately upon completion of the elective. This will allow feedback to reach the course faculty promptly. A passing grade will not be recorded for you until the feedback form for the course, properly completed, has been received by the Student Records Office.

During June, the College of Medicine will receive contracts for students wishing to enroll in the NRMP. Booklets explaining the program will be distributed to each student prior to the receipt of the contracts.

When the NRMP contracts become available, there will be a class meeting with representatives of each of the major disciplines, students who have just gone through the residency selection procedure and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. The general process, as well as the specifics, will be discussed at this meeting. If you have any specific questions before this meeting, contact your career advisor or the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

You should start gathering materials from programs in which you may have an interest any time during the summer of 1998. You will find a wealth of information about programs in the Student Records Office, Room 2107, because they maintain a listing of faculty members and the programs with which they are familiar throughout the entire country, plus brochures sent by hospitals and information from our graduates.

If a specific program seems very interesting to you and is also very competitive, it may be worthwhile to plan an elective at that institution prior to January 1999. This is not always essential but is recommended by some programs. It is not essential to take an elective at a specific program to obtain a residency in most specialties. Under all circumstances, discuss your plans with your career advisor and the head of the department in the area of your interest.

Since you will not be released from your electives for interviewing, you should plan to schedule vacation time for your interview trips between November 1998 and January 1999.

Before attempting to complete the Electives Selection Forms, carefully read the preceding Guidelines, discuss your career goals with your advisor and study this Electives Manual. With one of the forms in front of you, it is suggested you go through each item in order to learn to complete all the forms correctly.

Schedule Worksheet: A 'schedule worksheet' will serve as the top sheet for the request forms that you submit to the Student Affairs Office. Please write the name of each 'first choice' elective in the periods you wish to take them; also list vacation and interviewing time. You may need to refer to Section II of this Electives Manual for clarification of period numbers. An extra worksheet is included for your convenience in planning your program with your career advisor. Only one worksheet should be turned in.

Course Number: The lowercase subscript in course numbers indicates the location of the elective. When selecting a course with two or more subscripts, be sure to use the lowercase subscript of the location where you wish to go. Lowercase subscripts and the location with which they are associated are:

For example, a medicine subspecialty at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix would be MEDI 815Mf, while a medicine subspecialty at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix would be MEDI 815Me.

First Choice: Please note that all electives that you would like to take in one period should be listed under the First Choice heading. This might include only one elective or three seminars.

Second Choice: Some electives will be over-subscribed, so please list an alternate in case you do not get your preferred elective. DO NOT list an elective for a second choice that you have previously listed as a first choice. Find an acceptable alternative in case you do not get your preferred choice.

Clinical Advisor's Signature: As stated previously, you must discuss your proposed schedule with your Clinical Advisor. Your advisor must approve your electives program; your advisor may refuse to do so if he/she believes the program is not in your best interest. When you have agreed on a program, your advisor's signature plus his/her printed name should be on each sheet turned in.

Electives not under the direct supervision of a University of Arizona Faculty Member: For electives that the department has categorized as not directly supervised by University of Arizona faculty, list the name and address of the preceptor (the person who will be supervising your work and completing your evaluation). If the elective was categorized as "approval needed," attach the completed "Faculty Sponsorship of Away Elective" and "Student Request for Away Elective" forms. If you are attempting to schedule an elective at another medical school and are waiting to see if they can accept you, please indicate your tentative dates/location and the fact that these plans are not complete. Be sure to finalize these plans as soon as you hear from the school. Keep in mind that these electives cannot be dropped once plans are approved by both the preceptor and the College of Medicine. If plans do not materialize, you may have few choices remaining for you, so please begin this process in a timely fashion.

Comments: This section is the place to give information such as why you must have your choice for Period 1-A, but that all others can be shifted if necessary; or, what period you must be free for vacation. You should decide for yourself (and make clear on the form) which is more important to you-the order in which you take your electives or that you will take each of them anytime you can get them. If more students wish to subscribe to an elective than can be accommodated, names will be drawn at random to insure fairness. If you have further questions about scheduling, the guidelines presented in this Electives Manual or anything involving your senior year, ask your advisor, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs or the personnel in the Student Records Office.

Listed below are the names, telephone numbers and addresses of the Departmental Electives Coordinators.

Independence Day	Wednesday, July 4, 1998
USMLE, Step II	Tuesday & Wednesday, August 25-26, 1998
Labor Day	Monday, September 7, 1998
Veterans Day	Wednesday, November 11, 1998
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday, November 26, 1998
Winter Recess	Saturday, December 19, 1998-Sunday, January 3, 1999
Martin Luther King Day	Monday, January 18, 1999
USMLE, Step II	Tuesday & Wednesday, March 2-3, 1999
NRMP (Match) Day	Wednesday, March 17, 1999
Convocation	Friday, May 14, 1999
Graduation	Saturday, May 15, 1999
Memorial Day	Monday, May 31, 1999