The Clerkship Years: Third- and Fourth-Year Curriculum

Third Year Curriculum

Year 3 is comprised of 50 weeks and a total of 50 required credits as outlined below. Clerkships provide opportunities for students to further develop their critical thinking and diagnostic skills by providing direct patient care in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The third year curriculum commences with a week-long Clinical Foundations course and concludes with the Clinical Performance Examinations (CPX) week.

Fourth Year Curriculum

Year 4 is comprised of 41 weeks, in which students are required to obtain a minimum of 33 credit hours. Students have the opportunity to obtain a maximum of 41 credit hours throughout the year if desired. Curricular requirements in year 4 include a 4-week sub-internship, two 4-week COVID-19 impacted clerkship clinical experiences, a minimum of 16-weeks of electives, and a 5-week Readiness for Residency course. Electives may be taken in any specialty area at UTRGV SOM.* The Readiness for Residency course is the capstone course to the fourth-year curriculum. It is designed to further prepare students to successfully transition to residency training.

* Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UTRGV SOM in alignment with the AAMC's (Coalition for Physician Accountability) national guidelines which will only allow students to complete one (1) away rotation if we do not currently have a rotation affiliated with an ACGME residency program in their specialty of interest.

COVID-19 Impacted Clerkship Clinical Experiences

Due to COVID-19’s impact on the MS3 clerkships, MS4 students are required to complete two 4-week clinical experiences in core specialties such as OB /GYN, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, or Psychiatry. Family Medicine and Neurology require a 2-week clinical experience each. These are designed to be intensive clinical experiences that are tailored to provide a well- rounded exposure to the clerkships and allow opportunities for students to complete all of the required clinical experiences and procedures necessary for their third-year clerkships. 

Sub-internships

Students may complete a sub-internships in any specialty of interest. Students must complete their sub-internship at their UTRGV home institution unless they have met the criteria outlined by the AAMC's (Coalition for Physician Accountability) exemption for an away rotation. The 4-week sub-internship gives students the opportunity to expand their outpatient or inpatient knowledge and clinical skills. They will be performing at an intern level within the clinical team in preparation for residency training. Sub-internships are available in a variety of disciplines such as Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, OB/GYN, and Surgery.