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Frequently Asked Questions

Module 5 has 11 months of requirements which will help you to select a specialty and acquire the credentials needed to apply for residency.

What are the requirements of Module 5?

• A sub I/externship in Emergency Medicine, Medicine, or Pediatrics (1 month)
• 4 standard electives as listed in the on-line course catalogue
• 2 other electives, which may be standard electives, away US months, or 2 additional months of scholarly pursuit (beyond the required 3 months)
• Scholarly Pursuit (minimum of 3 months; can also be fulfilled by earning a 2nd degree while in medical school)
• Frontiers including bioethics (1 month); 3 weeks fulfilled by earning a Ph.D, M.S. in biomedical science or MPH while in medical school. Does not include bioethics.
• Step 1, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge, and Step 2 Clinical Skills (all must be taken by March 31, 2010 for those graduating in May 2010)
• Clinical Skills Inventory exam

What is the timeline for Module 5?

If you are graduating in 2010, the best way to plan Module 5 is to make yourself
worksheets with 16 months starting with January 2009 and ending with April 2010
(the last month in which you can do an elective). You will need to plot the requirements listed above and time to:

• study for Step 1 (recommended is 5 weeks)
• complete residency applications
• study for Step 2 (Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills)
• travel for residency interviews
• take a month or two off to relax and/or find a place to live after the Match

What is the residency application timeline?

The early match programs are: ophthalmology, pediatric neurology,
and urology. Match for these programs occurs in late January with the
applications due in late August/early September and interviews in
November and December. The Match for all the other specialties occurs in March.
Applications are submitted in September and October with interviews in November,
December, and January.

Which specialties require a separate application process for the internship
year?

• Anesthesia: Transitional Year or Medicine Prelim
• Dermatology: Medicine Prelim
• Emergency Medicine: Medicine Prelim (only needed for some programs)
• Neurology: Medicine Prelim
• Ophthalmology: Transitional Year or Medicine Prelim
• Radiology: Transitional Year or Medicine Prelim
• Radiation Oncology: Transitional Year or Medicine Prelim

What is a "sub I/externship" that is required?

A sub I/externship is a course which allows you to demonstrate your ability to manage patients. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking EMR308A (Emergency Medicine), MED400 (Sub-internship in Medicine) or MED400D (Externship in Medicine), PED300
(Sub-internship in Pediatrics).

A sub I in Medicine (MED400) or in Pediatrics (PED300) is an opportunity to
serve as an intern and is offered at HUP/VAMC/Pennsy/Presby or CHOP. We also have an Externship in Medicine (MED400D) at Pennsylvania Hospital with the opportunity to manage patients while being an addition to the team.

Do any specialties require a particular sub-I/externship?

Pediatrics requires PED300, Medicine (3 year, categorical residency) requires
MED400, and Emergency Medicine requires EMR308A. Students, who are considering specialties which need a transitional or medicine pre-lim year, should consider a medicine externship.

When should I take EMR308A/MED400/MED400D/PED300?

There is no one right answer and it varies depending on the specialty you are interested in. If you think a career in medicine or pediatrics interests you, then you want to keep in mind that a Unit month is recommended/required and the sub I/externship is a pre-requisite. If you are interested in surgery or a surgical sub-specialty, you may want to do your surgery courses first, followed by your scholarly pursuit, and then your required externship or sub-I.

Another approach would be to do your sub-I at Pennsy (all months are generally
available) or in March at HUP/VA/Presby and get it done early. By luck of the
draw or by changing your mind on your career choice, you may end up with EMR308A/MED400/MED400D/PED300 and a Unit month next September and October. Even with this schedule, there will be enough time to obtain letters of recommendation and the grade/comments will be in your transcript and dean's letter.

When do I register for EMR308A/MED400D/MED400/PED300 and the electives?

Scheduling is done first with your lottery rankings due by Monday, October 27th 8:00am. Electives scheduling is done in four-month blocks, according to the following:

• in November 2008 for January – April 2009
• in March 2009 for May – August 2009
• in June 2009 for September – December 2009

What are electives and when do I register for them?

You will need to 4 standard electives as listed in the on-line course catalogue.
These are generally one month long courses offered in all specialty areas at
HUP/VAMC/Presby/Pennsy/CHOP. There are also opportunities to develop clinical
experiences with Penn faculty on an individualized basis either in an inpatient or outpatient setting. Electives include consult courses, Unit months, chances to explore dermatology, radiology, radiation oncology, and one-on-one preceptorships in surgery (their equivalent to an externship), etc

Where do I find the rotation dates?

The 2009 schedule is posted on the web at:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/student/Mod42009Schedule.html
Please note: MED400 at HUP/VAMC/Pennsy/Presby runs from Sunday to Monday at 8am with orientation on Friday.

Are there any courses which are not offered all year-long?

A few courses (such as RAD300, some ortho preceptorships, etc) are not offered
in July or August so you may want to request them for February-April with the
alternative being May and June, which are part of the next registration cycle. You can arrange to do electives for two weeks instead of four after the registration process has run.

Where do I go for advice?

There is a Guide to Course Selection and a Guide to Residency Selection on the
student homepage http://www.med.upenn.edu/student/ under the “Student Affairs ”
tab. You will soon be able to request career counselors in the areas that interest you. Other good sources for advice are upper classmen, faculty, the Registrars Office and the Office of Student Affairs who can answer questions that you may have.

What is Scholarly Pursuit?

Scholarly pursuit can be fulfilled by:

• A mentored, focused, structured project which is 3 months or longer in length, after Module 4
• Earning a second degree after matriculation into medical school

Details can be found on the student homepage under “Mod 5” category at
http://www.med.upenn.edu/student/scholarlystudy

What are Frontiers Courses?

Frontiers are one- and two-week courses offered in late October/November and
February/early March. These courses focus on up-to-date trends in basic science
and their relationship to clinical medicine. The schedule may change for next
year but details about this year’s courses can be found in VC2000. You will
register for these courses in July 2009.

Are USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 (Clinical Knowledge & Clinical Skills) required and
when should I take them?

You must take these exams but a passing score is not required for graduation.
Since they are required for licensure and are used by some residency programs
for screening purposes, students:

• generally take Step 1 in January or February after the clerkship year
• must take Step 2 CK by March 31st (if graduating in 2010) and must register by September 30th, 2009
• must take Step 2 CS by March 31st (if graduating in 2010) and must register by June 30th, 2009

You can register for Step 1 or Step 2 by going to http://examinee.nbme.org/interactive/
Step 1 and Step 2-Clinical Knowledge are administered on computers and can be taken
year-round.

You will register via the website and then call a Prometric Learning
Center to schedule the day and time of your choice.

There will be a class meeting in October to discuss Step 1 studying tips. This meeting will include a panel of upper-classmen.

Clinical Skills Inventory (CSI)

What is the Clinical Skills Inventory and when is it offered?

The Clinical Skills Inventory (CSI) is a Standardized Patient exam designed to
assess your clinical skills following completion of your clerkship year, and to
prepare you for the USMLE's Step 2 CS exam.

Like Step 2 CS, CSI lasts a full day, during which you will see 12 SPs, one-on-one, in a clinic setting. You will be required to interview and examine SPs, and write a patient note after each encounter.

CSI is a summative pass/fail exam. You need to take and pass this exam in order
to graduate. The exam will be offered on the following dates from 8:30 a.m. – 4
p.m.:

Friday, March 6
Friday, March 13
Saturday, March 14
Monday, March 16
Tuesday, March 17
Wednesday, March 18
Thursday, March 19
Friday, March 20

Wednesday, April 1
Thursday, April 2
Friday, April 3
Saturday, April 4
Monday, April 6

Detailed information will be provided via email prior to your scheduled exam
date. If you have questions prior to then, feel free to contact Denise LaMarra,
Director of the SP Program, at lamarra@mail.med.upenn.edu, 215-898-3520.
http://www.med.upenn.edu/spprogram

When will I be taking ACLS?

ACLS is a pre-requisite for the medicine sub-internship with scheduling details to follow.

If I want to do a rotation away, when would I do this and how do I apply?

Most students, who choose to do away rotations, do so in the summer and fall of
the last year. The application process is driven by the other medical school and
details can be found on the student homepage under the “Mod 5” category at
http://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/electives/start.htm

If I decide to take an extra year, when and how do I apply?

If you want to do a year-long program and are interested in applying for
funding, start with the Office of Combined Degree and Physician Scholars
Program's website, www.med.upenn.edu/mdresearchopps/research_descriptions.shtml.

Some of the applications are time consuming so you may want to allow extra time
for Step 1 studying, if the due dates are in January or February. You will
probably want to do some electives, your sub I/externship, and USMLE Steps 2 in
2009 before your “year out”. You will be considered as an active student during
your extra year as long as you are spending half of your time on medically
related educational activities. The maximum amount of tuition charged is four
years which is 8 semesters. During an additional year, you will pay the general
fee, technology fee, and other miscellaneous charges in order to maintain your
status as a medical student.

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