Planning Your Post-Clerkship

Post-Clerkship is understandably a busy time, as students choose a specialty, submit residency applications, and study for the USMLE Step 2 CK exam. Updates and advising on scheduling courses will be given at mandatory Post-Clerkship Scheduling meetings during Clerkship.

Some important points to consider when planning your Post-Clerkship Phase:

Make a plan to finalize your specialty choice. This may mean ensuring that all of the courses you need to try out are scheduled, talking with Departmental Specialty Advisors in various specialties, reviewing the Specialty-Elective-Guides, or setting up a meeting with someone in Student Affairs to talk through your decision-making process.
Work with your LEAD advisor to determine when would be the best time to take your Step 2 exam. Decide how much time you want to set aside to study. Three to four weeks is typical. Step 2 must be taken by June 30
Work with your Departmental Specialty Advisor to determine if an away rotation would benefit your application, and if so, how many and where. Begin researching the application process for the specific institutions you have identified.
Schedule a clinical elective in your chosen specialty. Many specialties will have a required home rotation.
Talk with your Departmental Specialty advisor about what kinds of rotations (including sub-internships) would be preferred for getting letters of recommendation.
Schedule time off for prospective residency interviews
Schedule enough elective courses to meet graduation requirements.

Post-Clerkship Phase Scheduling Overview

Scheduling for the Post-Clerkship Phase will begin in the fall semester of Clerkship. A mandatory class meeting will provide an overview and timeline of the scheduling process.

Required Courses
Required courses will be scheduled via lottery and include Internal Medicine Sub-Internship, Neurology (if not taken during the Clerkship Phase), and Senior Seminar. All students will take the Transition to Residency Course at the scheduled time (generally the two week course begins the week following Match Day).

Elective Courses
Descriptions of elective courses required for graduation can be found in the MedOasis Course Catalog. Please also consult the Degree Requirements page for additional information. Students will waitlist elective courses in MedOasis after they have been placed in their required courses and home rotation if applicable.

Students may receive credit for electives not available in the course catalog. More information can be found in the Elective Proposal Policy. No credit will be given for language study, non-clinical service projects, or work for which students are paid. Students may not be supervised by parents or other family members. Students must submit an Elective Petition to the Elective Advisor at medkeck@usc.edu for approval of their elective at least six weeks prior to beginning the rotation, and credit for electives is subject to approval as defined in the Elective Proposal Policy.

Home Sub-I Rotations
Depending on your chosen specialty, you may be placed in a required clinical elective in that specialty to assist you in preparing for your chosen field. Home Sub-I rotations include:

Anesthesiology	Orthopaedic Surgery
Dermatology	Plastic Surgery
Emergency Medicine	Otolaryngology
General Surgery	Radiation Oncology
Neurosurgery	Radiology
Obstetrics and Gynecology	Urology
Ophthalmology

Away Rotations
Students choose to do away rotations for many reasons: to closely observe programs they are interested in, see a specialty practiced in a different environment than LA General, obtain letters of recommendation, or to leave a positive impression with programs that might not otherwise offer them interviews.

Away rotations are not a universally positive addition to your application, however. Spending an extended period of time at your chosen program allows many opportunities for you to have a personality conflict with a resident or attending at that program, and students who schedule too many away rotations can begin to suffer from burnout from trying to perform at their very best for weeks or months without a break. Students also sometimes choose to do away rotations at programs that will decide not to interview them because they don’t meet a minimum USMLE score or grade average, essentially wasting the time spent at that institution. If you plan to do away rotations, choose the programs carefully in conjunction with your departmental specialty advisor and/or the Student Affairs Deans.

Research Electives
Research Electives are available for students interested in completing 2 – 8 weeks of research during their third or fourth year of medical school. Under the direction of an approved preceptor, students may earn elective credit for their work. To learn more about Research Electives, please visit the Medical Student Research webpage.

International Electives
International rotations must be clinical or research-based. Language immersion programs do not count for course credit. Students wishing to receive credit for international rotations should apply per the host institution’s instructions and then submit an International-Elective-Petition. For more information, please visit International Studies.

More Resources
International Studies
Do Audition Electives Impact Match Success?
AMA Wire Article: What You Need to Know About Away Electives and the Match
Visiting Student Learning Opportunity (VSLO) FAQs

MedOasis Elective Scheduling
Waitlists for elective rotations will open after students have been scheduled for required courses. Electives must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance of the rotation start date, unless otherwise specified. Credit will only be given for courses that are on a student’s schedule in MedOASIS by the rotation start date. Please review the Elective Requirements and Scheduling Policy for additional information.

Away Elective Scheduling
Each institution determines its own requirements, methods, and deadlines for students wishing to visit. Most programs accept applications for senior electives through the AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunity (VSLO). Students experiencing issues accessing VSLO should contact Cynthia Galvez, Clerkship Coordinator at cynthia.galvez@med.usc.edu.

For applications submitted via VSLO, transcripts will be automatically uploaded and the office will verify your good academic standing, HIPAA and OSHA training, and malpractice and health insurance. We cannot provide immunization verification or your USMLE scores. For those, you must contact the Student Health Center and the NBME. If you have any questions about VSLO, please consult the VSLO FAQs.

For supporting documentation for non-VSLO applications, please complete the Away Elective Document Request Form and submit it to Cynthia Galvez, Clerkship Coordinator, at cynthia.galvez@med.usc.edu.
*Note: Please remember to request that your course director complete and submit a Student Performance Evaluation for you at course completion.

Away rotations will not be automatically added to a student’s schedule upon acceptance. Students need to complete the Away Elective Information form on MedOASIS and upload confirmation of acceptance from the host program. Credit will only be given for courses that are on a student’s schedule in MedOASIS prior to the rotation start date. For assistance with domestic away rotations, contact Cynthia Galvez, Clerkship Coordinator at cynthia.galvez@med.usc.edu.