Electives — Student Records — IU School of Medicine

Student Records

Indiana University School of Medicine Elective Program Policies and Procedures for 2008/2009

Introduction

The Elective Program provides each student with the opportunity to select elective courses in areas of his/her interest. The program makes available extensive resources, in addition to offering great flexibility for planning an individual program. The faculty, representing volunteer physicians in private practice as well as full-time clinicians and investigators, provide a depth of background and a wide spectrum of interest.

Elective courses offered in both the basic sciences and clinical sciences serve to widen the student's experience in his/her medical education. The electives also provide the student with opportunities to strengthen areas of weakness and/or to pursue subjects of special interest.

»Click here to view Elective Course Listings

The goals of the Elective Program as established by the School are:

To facilitate the student's increasing responsibility for self-determination in education.
To provide an opportunity for the student to augment previous experience in clinical and basic science areas in preparation for his/her chosen career.
To enable the student to observe the practice of medicine in its various forms in a university and a community setting and to be exposed to opportunities for careers in medicine in the state of Indiana.
To allow the student to participate in the care and treatment of ambulatory and acute problems.
To provide the student with opportunities to acquire and utilize skills which will be helpful in his/her future career (i.e., eye and ear exams, sigmoidoscopy, suturing, reading x-rays, etc.)
To provide the student with opportunities to strengthen areas in his/her program.
To provide special experiences to meet the needs of students with specific goals, such as research experience, postgraduate or graduate education, and/or special training outside the state or country.

Questions or correspondence concerning the Elective Program should be sent to:

Elective Program
Indiana University School of Medicine
Medical Student Affairs
Medical Sciences Building, Room 124
635 Barnhill Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5120
jmazurcz@iupui.edu

About the Elective Course Listings

The Elective Program Catalog has been prepared to provide students with essential information needed in selecting elective courses. The elective courses have been carefully reviewed and approved by the Curriculum Council. Additional information concerning the electives may be obtained in the Medical Student Affairs office, Rooms 159, 160, and 124.

Changes in the courses offered or changes to any course's description are not anticipated. However, if changes are made, they will be brought to the attention of students as soon thereafter as possible. Each course has a course number, title, and description. The number is not an official university academic course number but is one assigned by the Medical Student Affairs office to aid in the identification of the various electives. The numbers are extremely important in stating elective preferences and in making course assignments.

Scheduling of Electives/Clerkships

Members of the Class of 2009 are required to successfully complete three months of core clerkship coursework and seven months of elective study. The required clerkships of the fourth year are radiology, emergency medicine, and a sub-internship in internal medicine.

The required clerkships will be scheduled in early 2008, prior to the scheduling of elective courses.

Students' elective choices must be approved by assigned faculty advisors.

All scheduling is the final responsibility of the Dean's Office, Medical Student Affairs. Retroactive elective credit for previous experience (research, clinical work, etc.) will not be granted. Students are discouraged from scheduling any elective that would involve being taught and/or evaluated by a family member.

Complete schedules for the 2008-2009 fourth year will be distributed to students in April 2008. Schedule changes may be made after that date in accordance with procedures listed under the Schedule Change Policy (see below).

Schedule Change Policy

After students receive completed schedules in April 2008, schedule changes may be submitted on "Elective Change Request" forms in accordance with the following:

One complete "Elective Change Request" form is required for each calendar month being changed.
A complete "Elective Change Request" form requires the student's faculty advisor's signature and the course director's signature for the elective being dropped, and for the elective being added. Please note: For electives in institutions with a director of medical education, his/her approval is required instead of the individual course director's approval.
A complete "Elective Change Request" form is due in the Student Records Section, Medical Student Affairs, Medical Science Building, Room 160 ONE MONTH PRIOR to the start of the elective unless otherwise noted in the course description. Students are requested to contact Medical Student Affairs staff should any difficulty be encountered in meeting with the advisor or course director. Faculty and hospital directors of medical education request adequate notification of change.
Final approval of every "Elective Change Request" is the responsibility of the Dean's Office for Medical Student Affairs pending approval of those indicated above and completion of all necessary requirements. Students and other appropriate individuals will receive a copy of the final processed form from the Dean's Office- Medical Student Affairs.

Grading and Evaluation

Students will be evaluated by the course director of each elective according to the School of Medicine's grading policy. All scheduled electives must be satisfactorily completed. All failures will be referred to the Student Promotions Committee for review.

Student evaluations of each elective are due upon completion of the elective and are required before credit is given.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate, each student must satisfactorily complete a minimum of seven (7) elective months and three months of core clerkship experience. Four (4) elective months as a minimum must be established courses (non-special electives) listed in the 2008/2009 Elective Program Catalog.

One calendar month represents four (4) academic credits. All fourth year courses officially begin on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month. A "full time" elective entails a full academic day, five days per week and may include weekend duty, night call and/or weekend call. During the fourth year, a brief time off from electives (1-3 days per unit) for residency interviewing or other purposes may be allowed at the discretion of the elective course director and may or may not be granted. Time off from course work in a third or fourth year elective for any reason (except national examinations and commencement activities) may not exceed 3 days. Time off from fourth year core clerkships is NOT allowed, except for national examinations, required OSCE's (objective structured clinical exams), and commencement activities.

Members of the Class of 2009 must also achieve level 3 proficiency in 3 of the 9 competencies- effective communication; basic clinical skills; using science to guide diagnoses, management, therapeutics, and prevention; lifelong learning; self-awareness, self-care, and personal growth; social and community contexts of health care; moral reasoning and ethical judgment; problem solving; and professionalism and role recognition. Students can satisfy the requirement by successful completion of appropriate coursework in electives or core clerkships that have been approved for competency credit. Electives and core clerkships approved for competency credit are designated in the 2008/2009 Elective Program Catalog.

Individual student requests for exception to any of the above described policies/requirements should be submitted in writing to the Dean's Office- Medical Student Affairs at least (2) months prior to the proposed special scheduled program. Information regarding the procedures for such appeals is available in the Medical Student Affairs office, Room 124.

Students will graduate, assuming all requirements are satisfactorily completed, on the last day of the month in which the final elective or rotation is completed. Students are responsible for all electives in which they have been scheduled including the seven (7) electives which are required. Additional electives are a part of the student's graduation requirements and must be completed prior to certification of their graduation. The deadline to drop any additional elective(s) corresponds with the final change dates identified in the Schedule Change Policy as noted above.

Commencement will be held in May 2009, for all graduates. Students who participate in an elective or rotation after April 2009, will not receive the actual diploma until the completion of their last scheduled course and verification that all requirements are satisfactorily completed, including student course evaluations for each elective.

Financial Assistance

A student may accept "subsistence support" for electives taken outside Marion County to offset expenses. Students who are receiving National Direct Student Loans and/or Health Professions Loans must report any additional financial assistance received for taking elective courses to Student Financial Services, Medical Student Affairs office, Medical Science Building, Room 119.

Special Electives

A "special elective" course is defined as any academic program not listed in the Elective Program Catalog for which a student requests credit. Special electives may be academic programs offered in the state of Indiana or out-of-state. In general, no out-of-state special electives will be approved unless it is established that the program is available to and selected by students of the medical school(s) in that state/region. Special electives must be a minimum of 26 calendar days in duration to earn 4 academic credits. Special electives of less than one month may be approved to meet special needs for 2 or 3 weeks duration or in multiples of 2 or 3 weeks. Students will be allowed to do no more than 2 special electives of less than 4 weeks duration. The amount of credit awarded will be based on the length of the elective. All special electives must conform to the student's elective program, as designed by the student with his/her faculty advisor, as well as conform to graduation requirements. Students must be in good academic standing to be eligible to participate in a special elective. Third year students are eligible only for non-clinical special electives.

Information about special electives can be obtained from several sources. Departmental chairs and faculty may have information about potential special electives within their department. The Medical Student Affairs office receives elective course listing books from other schools of medicine throughout the United States. They are located in the Student Resource Room, Medical Student Affairs, Medical Science Building, Room 118, for students' review. A listing of on-line elective catalogs from other domestic medical schools is also posted as a link within the Elective Catalog web site.

A completed "Special Elective Request" form includes the following: 1) a written copy of the course description from the instructor, 2) approval from the appropriate Indiana University department chair, 3) approval from the student's faculty advisor, and 4) approval from the special elective course director. Requests for special electives that are not directly affiliated with an LCME accredited School or College of Medicine also require the completion and submission of an attachment to the "Special Elective Request" form that provides more detailed information regarding the proposed special elective. When all of these approvals have been secured, the student should return the forms and all the necessary documentation to the Student Records Section, Medical Student Affairs, Medical Science Building, Room 160. To be considered, the forms must be complete, including the course description and all required signatures, and must be submitted in accordance with the Schedule Change Policy as described above. The student, his/her advisor, and the course director will be notified as to whether or not the request for a special elective is approved by the Dean's Office- Medical Student Affairs.

Some out-of-state schools require verification of student malpractice insurance coverage and/or the Dean's approval of the student's participation. These requirements may be referred to the Medical Student Affairs office, Medical Science Building, Room 160.

Foreign Special Electives

Special electives based in foreign countries at institutions which are not affiliated with IUSM require additional documentation including, at a minimum, the following:

A copy of the student’s passport must be on file with the Medical Student Affairs office.
A completed IUPUI Emergency Contact sheet must be on file with the Medical Affairs office.
The student must attend an orientation session on the topic of foreign travel conducted by either IUSM faculty or the IUPUI Study Abroad office.
A 5-10 page paper will be required detailing the educational aspects of the elective. The paper will be evaluated by the IUSM Elective Sub-committee. Academic credit for the elective cannot be granted unless the paper is evaluated as satisfactory.
The student must sign a waiver of liability form issued by the IUPUI Study Abroad Office.

Foreign Elective Exchange Program

Indiana University School of Medicine has formal exchange agreements to facilitate student and faculty exchange between the following Universities:

UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG - GERMANY

Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Heidelberg. Students are responsible for living and traveling expenses. Application forms may be obtained from the University of Heidelberg by writing:

Barbara Lampe
Heidelberg University Medical Faculty
Im Neuenheimer Feld 346
D-69120 Heidelberg/Germany
Phone: + 49 06221/562701
Email: Barbara.Lampe@med.uni-heidelberg.de
http://med.uni-hd.de/index_eng.html

MOI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES - ELDORET, KENYA, AFRICA

The program is 2 months in duration. Students are responsible for travel (at a discount, room, and board (nominal fee). Students are also required to attend all 3 orientation sessions held the first three Wednesday evenings in May.

For information on how to apply, please contact or visit the website:

Ronald Pettigrew
Wishard Hospital
1001 West 10th Street, M200 West Building
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 630-8695
E-Mail rpettigr@iupui.edu
http://www.iukenya.org

POLICLINICO UNIVERSITARIO - CANTINA, ITALY

Each year one fourth year medical student from Indiana University School of Medicine may participate in an elective period at Policlinico Universitario -Canatina, Italy. The length of each exchange visit will be a minimum length of one (1) month and a maximum of four (4) months. Dossiers, including a brief biographical account, certified undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and a statement of purpose for the exchange period must be received a least three (3) months in advance. The tuition will be waived but students are responsible for travel and living expenses. Application forms may be obtained from the Policlinico Universitario by writing:

Dr. Antonio Russo
Dipartimento Di Chirurgia Cattdra Di
Chirugia Endosopia
Policlinico Universitario
Pad.29 - Viale A. doria, 9
Catania, Italy 95127

UNIVERSITY OF LILLE, FRANCE

Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Lille, France. Students are responsible for living and traveling expenses. Application forms may be obtained from the University of Lille by writing or emailing:

Professor Jean-Paul Francke
Faculté de Médecine
Université de Lille 2
Droit et Sainte
59045 Lille Cedex – FRANCE
Site Contact: Françoise Deregnaucourt
E-Mail: fderegnaucourt@univ-lille2.fr
http://www.univ-lille2.fr/medecine

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS - IRELAND

Indiana University School of Medicine and the Royal College of Surgeons. Students are responsible for living and traveling expenses. Application forms and information may be obtained from the RCSI website.

For additional information contact:
Dr Cliona Buckley, Vice Dean of Medical Faculty
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
123 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2
Telephone: +353 1 402 2261/2119
Fax: +353 1 402 2447
E-mail: cbuckley@rcsi.ie

Elective Enrollments

Enrollment counts are organized in the following ways:

Alphabetical by the letters in the course numbers (e.g. urology courses which have UR in the course number will be found near the end of the list). Consult the Elective Departmental Code System for a listing of these codes.
Numerically by county (e.g. courses that are in Fort Wayne all start with 02 and are listed first under each category, while courses in Louisville, KY which begin with 99 are listed last). Consult the Elective Numbering System for a listing of these numbers.

»View the most recent Elective Enrollments listing.

If you have questions or comments please e-mail jmazurcz@iupui.edu.

Directors of Medical Education —
Contact & Room and Board Information

»View listing by location. (Course numbers are included).