| This compendium of course offerings includes descriptions of required and elective opportunities offered by the School of Medicine and its teaching hospitals during years one, two, three, and four of the medical curriculum. Students are advised by "career advisors" designated by each department, academic staff in the Office of Medical Education, and faculty in the pre-clinical program in planning and arranging course offerings. Students are required to record a passing grade in all required courses. |
| FIRST
AND SECOND YEAR The first and second years begin in August and continue through May of the following year. Students participate in a structured curriculum as outlined above. Elective courses are also available for first and second year students. Instructions for registration will be mailed to the student's local address, therefore students must report and maintain complete up-to-date addresses in the Office of Medical Education.
USMLE Students can apply for Step 1 or 2 exam on-line at nbme.org or usmle.org. Verification signatures need to be obtained by dropping off your application to Dr. Schimpfhauser or Nancy Cronk in 131 BEB. In their absence, Philippa in the OME will sign application. Prior to beginning the third year, students will be required to take Step I of the USMLE. The deadline for taking Step 1 will be established each year by the Office of Medical Education. Failure of the USMLE will result in the student being held out of the next clerkship to allow for successful re-examination, which must be completed prior to the beginning of the next block. Students will then be allowed to start pending the examination result. A second failure will require the student to be placed on leave of absence. The student will not be allowed to reenter the curriculum until a passing grade is recorded. Students are only allowed three (3) opportunities to pass Step I of the USMLE, before a recommendation for a dismissal from the School is made. Fourth year students must meet the following Step 2 deadlines:
THIRD YEAR: Family Medicine / Psychiatry Pediatrics / Gynecology & Obstetrics Medicine Surgery Dilemmas in Medicine Electives (2) The third-year clerkship year begins in July with a mandatory orientation day. Students will enter the first clerkship the following day. Students are assigned to clinical clerkship groups by a lottery that utilize the facilities of hospitals and practice sites throughout the Western New York area. Instructions for registration will be e-mailed to the student's UB e-mail account, therefore students must report accurate e-mail addresses to Office of Medical Education, as well as providing current home addresses and phone numbers. Under direct supervision, the student will have an opportunity to observe and participate in the care of patients with a wide variety of illnesses and is given progressively more responsibility as his or her skill develops. Educational experiences also include emphasis on lecture demonstrations of clinical problems, small-group problem-solving, conferences, and ward rounds. Increasing emphasis is placed on disease prevention and primary care. Explanation of clinical competence is addressed through multiple mechanisms. There are four 12-week blocks of instruction. Blocks will consist of:
There is a 4-week Elective section within the 12-weeks of Medicine and Surgery. Students will be allowed to request whether to do the elective first, second, or third within the block. A list of Elective courses will be provided at a class meeting. MEDICINE: Students must attend the lecture series once a week during the entire 12 weeks. During the third year, students are not eligible to take an elective in MICU or critical care, nor can they take the fourth year Advanced Medicine rotation necessary for graduation. SURGERY: Student will attend two 4-week blocks of General Surgery, and will have a 4-week elective. Neurology or Surgical Subspecialties may be taken during the third year Surgical elective time, the third year Medical elective time, or during the fourth year. During the Surgical elective block, all students are required to attend the core components of the Surgical clerkship (orientation, lectures, grand rounds and the exam/exit interview). There will be two weeks of vacation following the completion of Block 2. All students will be on vacation during this two-week period. Students will not be permitted to take vacation time other than the two-week winter break, and no out of town electives will be allowed during the third year. Third Year Failure Remediation: Any academic deficiencies from the third-year curriculum must be removed before promotion to the fourth year. A student who fails a clerkship clinically must repeat the entire clerkship. However, any student who passes the clerkship clinically, but fails the examination and needs to repeat the clerkship, can elect to repeat the entire clerkship (6 or 8 week period to be completed in the first block of the fourth year) or participate in a four week remedial experience (4 weeks long to be offered in the fourth year). This is available for a single clerkship failure only. Details of the remedial experience will be left to the discretion of the clerkship coordinator. NOTE: Failure of a remedial experience will constitute a second clerkship failure, and render the student subject to dismissal from the School. If the student elects to repeat the entire clerkship and fails, this will also render the student subject to dismissal from the School. FOURTH YEAR The curriculum is designed so students may plan, with faculty advisement, a significant part of their educational program. The elective approach to curriculum affords students with different backgrounds and different aspirations an individual educational experience. Through the elective program, they are able to try out possible career choices, gain additional clinical experience, embark upon/conclude research work, or re-examine the basic medical sciences. Instructions for registration will be e-mailed to the student's UB e-mail account; therefore students must report and maintain complete up-to-date addresses in the Office of Medical Education. Fourth-year students are required to take eight (8) four-week modules. Required modules in the fourth year include Neurology (NEU 801), Advanced Clerkship in Medicine (MED 802), and Surgical Subspecialties (SUR 800). All required courses must be taken in Buffalo. The eleven-month fourth year (ending with L module) affords students three modules of "unscheduled time." The M module in the fourth year may only be used to remediate a course failure or for students who are otherwise delayed. NOTES:
Out of Town Electives – Must be 4th year student in good standing IMPORTANT: A CURRENT AFFILIATION AGREEMENT MUST BE IN PLACE BETWEEN UB AND THE TRAINING INSTITUTION. A student wishing to participate in an out-of-town elective must discuss with our School's appropriate departmental chairperson or course coordinator the possibility or advisability of taking an out-of-town rotation in a comparable department. If there is agreement that a rotation is possible and advisable, then the student communicates directly with the desired program. If he or she is accepted to the program, the department may request confirming letters and/or program descriptions. The department then notes their approval/disapproval on the Out of Town Elective Form and forwards it to the Office of Medical Education for final approval/disapproval. A drop/add form must also be completed for registration purposes. Approvals of "away" programs are made on an individual basis based on academic value and student academic status. USMLE Step 2 Step 2 CK and CS are both requirements for graduation. Students will only be verified by the School as eligible for Match participation if the following deadlines are met:
CLINICAL AFFILIATION AGREEMENTS AND STUDENT LIABILITY INSURANCE OVERVIEW The purpose of an affiliation agreement between UB and an affiliated institution is to advance UB students’ educational programs in a particular educational discipline. Why is a written Affiliation Agreement necessary? The State University of New York is considered an agency of the State of New York, and therefore, its liability is the same as the State of New York. The affiliation agreement sets forth the educational purposes of the arrangement; the responsibilities of each party; allocation of the risks; any insurance covering any risks; duration of the agreement; and how the parties will coordinate the clinical experience. Without an affiliation agreement, no academic credit can be earned and no medical liability coverage is provided. SUNY’S INSURANCE FOR UB STUDENTS For students who are participating in health-related clinical experiences, especially those with hands on in either patient care or laboratory testing, there is a risk of a lawsuit. Pursuant to the mandates of the policy, UB must have a written agreement between itself and the Host Institution in order to have insurance coverage extended to the student participating in that particular clinical program. Therefore, for health-related student affiliation agreements, SUNY purchases commercial insurance to cover malpractice claims against students. Both defense costs and indemnification in the event of judgment or settlement are covered in the event of a lawsuit being filed naming the student as a Defendant. Without a written Affiliation Agreement in place, the student will not have coverage for either defense costs or indemnification if such a suit is brought by a third party. A student is not covered when he or she shadows or does any type of health related clinical experience with a physician, nurse or any other health care provider who is a friend, relative or neighbor of the student, without a written agreement between UB and the Host Institution. In these cases, the student is solely liable for their actions because the student’s activities are not under authority or consent of UB. POLICY LIMITS The current policy is a typical professional insurance contract with an amount not less than $3 Million aggregate for bodily injury and property damaged combined single limit, the standard of the health care industry as determined by the New York State Health Department. CLINICAL EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE THE U.S.A. SUNY’s Student liability policy does not cover affiliation agreements outside the continental United States. A student wishing to do a clinical experience outside the US would have to obtain their own policy of insurance, which can be quite expensive. Liability exposure is not limited just to professional liability. Insurance also covers legal defense costs, which can be quite expensive. In the past, SUNY has entered into several affiliation agreements with agencies in Ontario, Canada so long as the Host Institution signs SUNY’s Standard Affiliation Agreement complete with the Exhibits. ESTABLISHING AN AFFILIATION AGREEMENT Any student who wishes to work in a physician’s office, a research laboratory, or a hospital/clinic must do the following:
Program Planning Advisors and faculty as well as members of the Dean's staff in the Office of Medical Education are available to assist third- and fourth-year students in the program-planning process. Requests for special scheduling as well as for participation in programs with a duration of greater than two months or greater than one month at the same institution must be brought to the attention of the Office of Medical Education and approved by the Fourth Year Committee. When determined beneficial for the student, individual programs may be modified at the approval of the Year Committee and Office of Medical Education. GRADUATION HONORS Students may qualify for Latin, research or thesis honors at graduation. Students have the opportunity to apply for both research and thesis honors prior to graduation. Candidates interested in these honors must write a thesis for review by a special committee. Research honors simply require evidence of continuous research that has resulted in either publication(s) or presentation(s) at national meetings. For more information and applications for graduation honors please go to: www.smbs.buffalo.edu/ome/ome_academic.htm. Visiting Students Visiting students from other university programs in and outside the U.S. must successfully complete an application process in order to take fourth-year clinical electives at any of the School's affiliated hospitals or institutions. The Office of Medical Education administers this program. The tremendous demand for educational experiences by students trained elsewhere, especially foreign-trained students, far exceeds our ability to accommodate them. We have, therefore, established a policy that will keep open visiting student opportunities for domestic students, and we will continue to meet our current exchange program obligations for foreign-trained students. American citizens training abroad will be accommodated where possible, especially if there is a western New York connection. There will otherwise be a general moratorium on visiting students from foreign schools with whom we have no affiliation at this time. For information, students should call (716) 829-2802 or request a senior elective packet and a listing of available courses by writing to: Senior Elective Packet, SUNY at Buffalo, School of Medicine, Office of Medical Education, 40 Biomedical Education Building, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214. Medical School acceptable grades are:
Once awarded, Unsatisfactory grades will become part of the student’s academic record. Remediation of Unsatisfactory grades will be credited at the next scheduled course offering. (For example: An Unsatisfactory grade in the Fall semester will show the remediation in the Fall of the next year.) Incomplete grades are to be awarded only in the event of illness or an individual circumstance. Failure to complete course work on time requires an Unsatisfactory grade. Withdrawal grades will become part of the student’s academic record in the event a student fails to pass the USMLE and cannot begin clerkship on time. SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES First year students can compete for summer opportunities at the University. Students selected for the Primary Care Externship Program and the Summer Research Fellowship Program will be registered (by the OME) in the Spring semester to enable their insurance coverage to continue through their summer experience. Final grades for these programs are provided by the project sponsor, preceptor or program director. Timely submission of this grade is the student’s responsibility. Students seeking liability insurance for summer experiences outside the University need to speak with the Associate Dean. Information on applying to summer programs is available on the web site: http://wings.buffalo.edu/smbs/ome/student/summer.htm. |