Policy on Criteria and Process for Approving Elective Courses

Professionalism Reporting

Policy Statement:

The Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) is committed to offering a wide array of elective opportunities to its medical students to enable their development of rich and relevant individualized learning plans and to provide experiences that facilitate their determination of postgraduate career goals (see definitions below). KSOM medical students must complete sufficient numbers of weeks of approved elective credit as defined by the Graduation Requirements Policy. KSOM medical students may participate in elective opportunities at institutions or venues outside of KSOM, if approved. KSOM-based electives may be made available to visiting students.

Policy Requirement:

  • KSOM elective proposals may be submitted for consideration to the Elective Review Committee (ERC) by any KSOM faculty. ERC is chaired by the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education or designee and includes the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Chairs of the Pre- Clerkship and Clinical Curriculum Committees, and faculty representative(s) from the Department of Medical Education. Proposals must identify an appropriate faculty course director and must include, but are not limited to, the following information: learning objectives, course description, length of course, prerequisites, supervision, schedule of activities (~ 40 hours per week required), methods of assessment, safety of site, and location of emergency
  • ERC approves or rejects KSOM elective proposals and may work with the course director to ensure proposals meet minimum standards.
  • KSOM elective proposals that have been approved by ERC, regardless of location of learning, are submitted to the Medical Education Curriculum Committee (MECC) for consideration and must be approved by both ERC and MECC prior to offering the elective to KSOM medical students.
  • Extramural elective proposals may be considered options for KSOM medical students without approval by the ERC and MECC if offered by an LCME accredited school or ACGME recognized residency program and listed in the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO).
  • Extramural elective proposals must be reviewed and approved by ERC if at an LCME accredited school and/or ACGME recognized residency program that does not participate in VSLO.
  • Electives offered at outside institutions or venues that represent opportunities for a single or very few students over time must be approved by the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education on a case-by-case basis.
  • KSOM medical students may only enroll and participate in approved or otherwise sanctioned electives, regardless of site, after counsel from the Assistant Dean for Career Advising or their designee and the student’s faculty advisor.

 

Definitions:

Away Rotations for KSOM Medical Students
Medical students are eligible to explore taking an away elective at other U.S. medical schools or teaching hospitals. Most of the experience are offered through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Core Clinical Elective
Core clinical electives are clinical rotations that provide students in-depth exposure to fundamental disciplines of medicine in addition to those represented by the required core clerkships. The core clinical elective requirement is designed to broaden one’s clinical experience, reinforce essential skills, and prepare students for residency by ensuring well-rounded cross-disciplinary clinical training. Core clinical electives are comprised of disciplines in which students can pursue residency training, as well as select subspecialty rotations within Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Surgery that align with established fellowship pathways. Designated rotations in Emergency Medicine or Critical Care can count toward meeting the core clinical elective requirement.

Critical Care Elective
A critical care elective is a clinical experience in which medical students participate in the care of critically ill patients in an intensive care unit setting. The rotation emphasizes the recognition and management of life-threatening conditions such as shock, respiratory failure, and sepsis, and includes training in acute resuscitation, advanced monitoring, and interdisciplinary team-based care. A qualifying rotation must be 4 weeks in length and align with the Keck School’s common core objectives for critical care rotations, ensuring consistent educational goals and competencies across all approved critical care experiences.

Emergency Medicine Elective
An emergency medicine elective is a clinical experience in which medical students evaluate and manage patients presenting with undifferentiated, acute medical, surgical, and traumatic conditions in the emergency department. The rotation emphasizes rapid assessment, diagnostic reasoning, initial stabilization, and disposition planning across a broad spectrum of patient presentations and acuity levels. A qualifying rotation must be 4 weeks in length and align with the Keck School’s common core objectives for emergency medicine rotations, ensuring that students achieve core competencies in acute care, procedural skills, and interprofessional collaboration.

Extramural Elective
Students may receive credit for electives that are clinical in nature and supervised by a non-site physician. The Extramural Elective Petition must be submitted and approved by the Elective Review Committee (ERC).

International Elective
Any approved elective which takes place outside of the United States. Please refer to the Procedure for International Electives for more information.

KSOM Elective
KSOM electives are delivered through KSOM-affiliated sites with supervision by KSOM faculty and may be offered for a minimum of 2 continuous weeks. KSOM electives may be designated as clinical or non-clinical and may be delivered synchronously, asynchronously, in-person or through online or remote methods as approved by the ERC and the MECC.

Non-Clinical Elective
A non-clinical elective is an educational experience in which less than 50% of the rotation involves direct patient care, but which meaningfully contributes to a student’s professional development. These rotations may focus on areas such as medical education, health policy and economics, narrative medicine, or research. While not patient-facing, non-clinical rotations must have clearly defined learning objectives, supervision, and deliverables to ensure alignment with the competencies expected of graduating physicians. Non-clinical electives (excluding research) are required to provide a minimum of 2 hours of real-time instructor-led activities per week.

Virtual (online or remote) Elective
Virtual electives may be delivered through KSOM or its affiliates or offered by an outside institution or venue. All virtual electives must meet the requirements of KSOM and go through the appropriate approval process to be offered. Approved virtual electives must have an appropriate faculty course director, learning objectives, identified prerequisites, appropriate supervision, a defined schedule of activities (~ 40 hours per week required), appropriate methods of assessment.

Virtual electives will be considered nonclinical unless there is a significant telemedicine component that can include the interpretation of radiographic or other imaging modalities that aid in patient care. Students will be granted graduation credit for nonclinical electives as stated in the graduation requirements policy. KSOM medical students may receive credit for a maximum of one away virtual elective in any academic year with the approval of the associate director of academic and career advising and the student’s faculty advisor.

Reviewed and Approved: May 22, 2024

Amended for approval: June 22, 2025

Medical Education Curriculum Committee (MECC)