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School of Medicine Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Medical Center

M.D. Program

Inova Campus

Inova emergency room

The VCU School of Medicine has an educational relationship with the Fairfax Hospital of the Inova Health System. Beginning with the class matriculating in August 2003, 24 students are selected to receive their M3 and M4 clinical training years at Fairfax Hospital. Each applicant to the School of Medicine will be asked to indicate one of the following three choices:

  1. I would prefer to do my clinical training in Richmond on the Medical College of Virginia Campus.
  2. I would prefer to do my clinical training at the Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax VA.
  3. I would like to be considered for either clinical training site.

Fairfax Hospital has a long and rich tradition of educating interns, residents and medical students since it’s inception over 40 years ago. Consistently ranking in the top 100 hospitals in the United States, Inova Fairfax Hospital was selected by U.S. News and World Report in 2006 as one of the nation’s best hospitals for cardiac surgery and cardiology, digestive disorders, geriatrics, gynecology and endocrinology. The hospital has Northern Virginia’s only level one trauma center for treating the most critically injured patients, one of the nation’s busiest obstetrics program and is one of only six community hospitals in the nation offering the full spectrum of organ transplantation.

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The clinical educational experience at Inova Fairfax Hospital will parallel the experiences on the Richmond Campus. There will be seven M3 Clerkships with both full-time and volunteer community faculty. Scheduled didactic lectures, teaching rounds and conferences, and departmental grand rounds will complement the large and varied patient population. A full range of fourth year electives will be available at Inova Fairfax Hospital, and students also have the option of taking electives on the Richmond Campus and elsewhere in the country.

Virginia Commonwealth University is excited about the opportunity to offer clinical educational experiences at Inova Fairfax Hospital. We hope the students from Northern Virginia will find this opportunity particularly appealing. The admissions committee does not use applicant preferences in their decision making. Students who indicate Fairfax Hospital as their preferred choice will be given the first opoportunity to participate. Once an applicant matriculates he/she will be asked to confirm their preference.

See Inova Campus Frequently Asked Questions.