3rd Year Curriculum

Third Year Requirements and General Information

Please read all directions carefully. If you have any questions, please make an appointment to speak with any of the following people:

• Leanne M. Shook, Clerkship & Elective Program Manager, Office of Student Affairs, Room 1001 Bondurant Hall, 962-8338, e-mail address: leanne@med.unc.edu (questions regarding registration procedures)
• Ms. Sheila Graham McDonald , Financial Aid Officer, Office of Student Affairs, Room 1001 Bondurant Hall, 962-6118, e-mail address: Sheila_Graham@med.unc.edu (questions regarding financial aid procedures)
• Dr. Georgette Dent, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, 1060 Bondurant Hall, 962-8334; e-mail address: Georgette_Dent@med.unc.edu (questions regarding career decisions)
• Dr. Robyn Stewart, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, 1060 Bondurant Hall, 962-8334; e-mail address: Robyn_Stewart@med.unc.edu (question regarding career decisions)
• Dr. Deborah Ingersoll, Educational Resources Coordinator, 1050 Bondurant Hall, 843-6171; e-mail address: Deborah_Ingersoll@med.unc.edu

General Information

The Basic Clinical Curriculum [top]

The basic clinical curriculum is the result of a major, three-year review that involved significant input from many faculty, students, AHECs and community preceptors. The basic curriculum represents a continued growth in teaching and learning in primary and generalist care settings. Students will experience more interactions with patients and their families in community settings, such as neighborhood clinics, private practitioners’ offices, health departments, nursing homes, HMOs, and other local health care facilities.

The third year curriculum is composed of 6 weeks of Family Medicine, 8 weeks of Inpatient Medicine, 4 weeks of Neurology, 6 weeks of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 4 weeks of Outpatient Medicine, 6 weeks of Pediatrics, 6 weeks of Psychiatry and 8 weeks of Surgery.

• Family Medicine - During the Family Medicine clerkship each student will work on a one-to-one basis with a primary care physician, seeing patients in that community, and learning about the factors within the community that affect the health of patients and their families.
• Inpatient Medicine - Students on the Inpatient Medicine Clerkship spend two 4-week rotations on inpatient services working alongside attendings and residents. Students learn and practice clinical reasoning and decision-making skills.  By the end of the clerkship, students are well on the way to developing a rational, evidence based approach to the evaluation and care of hospitalized adult medical patients.
• Neurology - The Neurology Clerkship consists of a 4-week rotation through a choice of two sub-specialties in the inpatient and clinical setting.  Through patient encounters as well as didactic case-based conferences and several computerized learning modules, students will be taught the elements of a good neurological history and physical examination in order to develop a differential diagnosis, appropriate use of diagnostic testing to verify or clarify a diagnosis, and the basics of neurological therapeutics.
• Obstetrics & Gynecology - The Obstetrics and Gynecology clerkship is a 6 week rotation which will prepare each medical student in the areas of women's reproductive and preventive health, common gynecologic problems and care of the obstetrical patient.  Outpatient, inpatient, labor and delivery and surgical settings are utilized to meet these objectives.
• Outpatient Medicine - During this clerkship you will spend four weeks in one or more clinics working directly with faculty physicians as they see their own patients.
• Pediatrics - Three weeks of the Pediatric Clerkship focus on pediatric health care in ambulatory and primary care settings.
• Psychiatry - The Psychiatry clerkship consist of 6 weeks and provides the clinical and supervisory opportunities required for a sound, balanced introduction to clinical psychiatry.
• Surgery - The Surgery Clerkship consist of eight weeks, and will target surgical problems encountered and treated by generalists, and common medical illnesses with surgical indications; the focus will be on the basic surgical skills that all students should learn in preparation for their future careers.

Clerkships at Other Institutions

There are no third year clerkships done outside of UNC or its AHEC Hospitals.

Switching Clerkships with Another Student

Based on recommendations from previous class leaders, students will be permitted to switch clerkships if they can find a willing partner. Both students will need to meet with me (Leanne Shook) to sign an agreement to switch. Our switching period will last one month and it will begin after final schedules have been distributed. More information will be provided soon.

Block/Site Scheduling

The block clerkship schedules are completed in the Clerkship & Elective Program Manager’s Office. However, each clinical department’s Clerkship Coordinator does site scheduling within a specific clerkship. All students are required to spend time at our AHEC sites for some of their clerkship experience. A significant amount of time in your third year may be scheduled away from UNC Hospitals. If you have special needs (single parents, married with children, illness), please let the Departmental Clerkship Coordinator know this when you turn in your preference forms for site scheduling.

Enrollment, Tuition and Fees

Registration and enrollment in the School of Medicine are required for all courses for which you receive credit for the M.D. Degree.  Even though our medical school curriculum is different from other professional schools in the UNC system, registration is required for the Second Summer session, Fall semester, Spring semester and First Summer session to meet the requirements of the M.D. Degree.

Tuition in the third year is prorated based on the number of clerkships taken in a semester. The initial scheduling of third year rotations is handled within the medical school, which must report to the University Registrar's Office before final registrations are generated.  You must pay tuition and fees, or give notice to the Cashier's Office of anticipated financial aid by completing a Tuition and Fee Waiver form prior to the deadline set by the University Cashier which is printed on the back of your bill. If your tuition and fees are not paid or deferred for each term of enrollment, your registration will be canceled. The University Cashier will send Tuition and Fee bills to the home address you have given the Medical School Student Affairs Office. Being scheduled out of town on a rotation does not excuse you from paying Tuition and Fees on time.