M4 Electives

Forms and Instructions

M4 Electives Request Form: The electives request form may be accessed by logging on to Student Records System (SRS). A link to M4 Electives Request form is available under the “Forms” section in the Options navigation bar. Please note that access to M4 Electives Request form is restricted to rising M4 students only.

Application for Extramural Course or Clerkship [PDF]

Agreement and Release Form for Domestic Electives [PDF]

Application for International Independent Study and Agreement and Release Form [PDF]

Independent Project Proposal Form [PDF]

Application Form for Visiting Students [PDF]

Instructions for Filling Out the Online Electives Request Form

Class of 2011: Please read the Guidelines before entering your choices.

All VCU and Inova M4s are required to complete the Online Electives Request Form.

All Inova students need to see Jennifer Ettridge or Alyssa Thurman about M4 Advisors if you have not been assigned and M4 Advisor to help advise you in your M4 year.

1. For each time period (1 through 8), indicate your First and Alternate course choices. All students are automatically signed up for the “Update Course” #1003 for Time Period 9. You are not required to complete the form in one sitting. You can save the incomplete form at any time by clicking on “Save Schedule” button at the bottom of the online form. Your form will not be forwarded to the Electives Office until you submit the completed form by clicking on “Forward to Electives Coordinator.” Once the form is submitted, you will no longer be able to make any changes. Please see Nancy Jackson about filling out the M4 Lottery Schedule before you submit it.
2. RANKED CHOICE LIST should include in your order of preference, those electives that you would take during any period. For example, if you want to take an elective in Radiology during period two, but you know it’s popular and may fill early, put that elective as your number one choice on the rank list. If the computer does not match you with period two, it will assign you the course whenever it is available and you have an opening in your schedule. The Ranked Choice List should also contain other electives you are interested in, but did not include on your specific course list. Ranked Choice List may duplicate course numbers requested in your main choice list.
3. Some of the less commonly subscribed courses and M3 rotations are listed below:
   

   Course #	Title
   5550	A Research Project or Clinical Project at VCU Only
   5555	Repeating M3 Rotations—August, September, October and November 2012
   5556	Rescheduling M3 Rotations—August, September, October and November 2012
   6660	Electives away from VCU and Inova
   7770	Electives outside of the United States

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4. ACTING INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENT: All M4’s are required to complete one (1) Acting Internship of their choice at the VCU Medical Center of Virginia Commonwealth University, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Inova or any Family Practice Acting Internship. (For Family Practice A.I.’s—VCU students need to contact the individual residencies directly first and then let Erin in Family Medicine know which time period, before you turn in lottery schedule; please fill in for that time period where your A.I. is already schedule for the “Independent Project #5550.” Then, let me know after you receive your schedule that for that time period you are doing the Family Practice A.I.; I will then switch you out of #5550 to the #3809.

REMINDER:

• During the lottery, VCU students can only sign-up to do A.I.’s at VCU. (After the lottery and once the Inova students have done their lottery, VCU students can sign up for other available A.I.’s.)
• Inova students can do their A.I.’s at Inova, VCU and V.A. Medical Center.

NOTE: Only electives designated as Acting Internships in the title may satisfy this requirement.

Try not to schedule any A.I.’s or Urgent Care electives during Time Period V, you might have interviews in both Time Period V and your regular time to be off for interviewing (January 2-25, 2013), because the preceptors for the A.I.’s do not recommend that you do that, but if you need you can schedule them.

If there is a certain A.I. and/or elective that you would like to do and do not care when you get it, then try to alternate that particular elective throughout your choices, for example:

Time	First Choice	Alternate Choice
Period II	Medical Respiratory ICU—A.I.	Medical Critical Care Unit–VA—A.I.
Period III	Medical Critical Care Unit–VA—A.I.	Medical Respiratory ICU—A.I.
Period IV	Anesthesiology	Medical Respiratory ICU—A.I.
Period V	Clinical Endocrinology	Medical Critical Care Unit–VA—A.I.

Select from the dropdown list of electives, the course you prefer to have scheduled in that period. An attempt will be made to schedule the elective you have requested in the period indicated. Please review the catalog carefully for time periods in which a particular elective is offered. Not all electives are offered in every time period. If the elective cannot be scheduled in that period, an attempt will be made to schedule the elective indicated as the Alternate course (Optional).

If your schedule remains incomplete after an attempt has been made to schedule electives indicated in the First and Alternate choice, the first available course listed in the Ranked Choices will be scheduled. You may enter the same course entered previously as First or Alternate choice in the Ranked Choices list. The same course will not be scheduled twice. Do not duplicate too many of the electives in the Ranked Choice list. Give yourself a chance at some other electives that you would have liked to do but you ran out of time periods.

If you do not get the A.I. for the time period you wanted, please check with the preceptor once your schedule is posted (after May), to see if they can take an extra student for that time period. The preceptor has to put it in writing to Nancy Jackson, Electives Coordinator or [E-mail]: nbjackso@vcu.edu so that the student schedule can be updated.

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5. REQUIRED URGENT CARE ELECTIVE: All are required to do an “Urgent Care” month.
   
   VCU students and Inova students can choose from list below:
   
   1. Emergency Medicine (Course #1004)
   2. Anesthesiology (Course #0200)
   3. Medical Respiratory Intenstive Care Unit (Course #4462)
   4. Medical Critical Care Unit–VA (Course #8807)
   5. Surgical Critical Care (Course #8803)
   6. Trauma and Emergency Surgery (Course #2552)
   7. Newborn Intensive Care Unit (Course #5250)
   8. Pediatric Intenstive Care Unit (Course #9575)

   Only Inova students can choose from list below:

   1. Anesthesiology (Course #0202)
   2. Medical Intensive Care Unit (Course #4465)
   3. CCC–Inova (Course #4471)
   4. Pediatric ICU (Course #1402)
   5. General Emergency Medicine (Course #1000)
   6. Pediatric Emergency Medicine (Course #1002)
   7. Surgical ICU (Course #8804)
6. INDEPENDENT AND AWAY ELECTIVES: If you are interested in a Research or Individual Clinical Project, please fill out the Independent Project Proposal Form* [PDF]. Also if you are planning an away elective (#6660) or international elective (#7770), please complete all of the necessary forms and the Extramural Elective Form* [PDF] and turn it in to the Electives Office to the attention of Nancy Jackson including Inova students.

Here are some more pointers for filling out the electives form:

• If you are planning on doing a Domestic Elective (#6660), International Elective (#7770), Independent Project (#5550) or making up anything in the third year (#5555 or #5556), the computer will put you in those electives for that time period (you do not need to fill in Alternate choice or list them in your Rank List); even if your away electives have not been approved yet. You are not competing with others in your class for these electives.
• Students doing away electives (#6660 or #7770) should make sure that you pick-up a grade evaluation sheet from the Electives Office to carry with you, and bring it back to the Electives Office. Make sure that the Electives Office has the approval letters from the places where you have been accepted before you leave to go away, because the malpractice insurance might not cover you if the SOM does not have the approvals. Also, for International Electives we need a detailed description of the elective from the preceptor with whom you will be working regarding what you will be doing with the preceptor. (Turn this in at the same time you bring the Extramural Form to the Electives Office to be signed off for approval from Dr. Wood or Dr. Cheifetz). Remember that the Electives Coordinator needs to know where you are at all times.
• For Independent Research Projects (#5550) make sure that the Electives Office has the approval form before you start that elective.
• You can only do four months away and out of the four months you can only do two months of International Electives. (E-mail or call the Electives Coordinator concerning this because at some places time periods are different from our schedule).
7. DEADLINE: We realize we are asking you to make important decisions early, but this is necessary in order for you to get your choice of electives before we start accepting visiting student’s applications. Please complete and submit your online request form by Monday, May 7, 2012. You may make changes to your schedule prior to June 30th once you receive your schedule from Nancy Jackson on May 25th, but after June 30th, all requests from visiting medical students will be accepted.

PRINT OUT A COPY OF YOUR LOTTERY SCHEDULE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT AND BRING IT TO THE ELECTIVES COORDINATOR (Nancy Jackson). You will be notified by the end of May 2012 of what electives you did receive in the lottery and your final schedule will be posted to the SRS website. You can e-mail Nancy Jackson [E-mail]: nbjackso@vcu.edu to make changes to your schedule after May 2011 at anytime except during lunch time from 12:00–1:00 PM. REMEMBER only Nancy Jackson can make changes to your schedule—you can not.

PLEASE PRINT OUT YOUR LOTTERY SCHEDULE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT TO ELECTIVES OFFICE WITH THE APPROVAL SIGNATURE OF YOUR M4 ADVISOR.

Please watch out for deadline dates concerning Graduation and other important things from Heather Davison (Registrar), Nancy Jackson or Janet Mundie because our deadline dates are very important.

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