Third Year Clerkships

The Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) Third Year Curriculum requires clerkships in:

  1. Family Medicine (4 weeks)
  2. Internal Medicine (10 weeks)
  3. Surgery (10 weeks)
  4. Neurology (2 weeks)
  5. Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 weeks)
  6. Pediatrics (6 weeks)
  7. Psychiatry (4 weeks)
  8. A “Selective” (2 weeks) Students choose from one of the following options: Anesthesia, Child Psychiatry, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Geriatrics, Interventional Radiology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Surgical Pathology,  or an additional two weeks of Neurology.

At the conclusion of the Third Year, the student will undergo an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) exam before proceeding to the Fourth Year.

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship

GUSOM currently offers two Longitudinal-Integrated Clerkship (LIC) experiences, providing an opportunity for Third Year students to train in internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology (Baltimore LIC) or Psych (DC Health Equity LIC) simultaneously for 22-weeks at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland or 20 weeks locally for those in the Washington, DC LIC.

The LICs follow the core educational objectives, course requirements and similar instructional and evaluation methods as students completing their course work in the traditional block clerkships. The major difference is that students in the LIC will meet the objectives of each clerkship in a longitudinal manner rather than in the traditional block schedule. In addition, LIC students are assigned to be a part of a care team for panel of patients over the six month period, following them through multiple areas of care. For example, LIC students have seen their panel patient for a pre-operative evaluation, scrubbed in on the same patient’s surgery as well as attended the follow up appointments in an outpatient setting. Students have one-on-one mentors in each of the four disciplines allowing for continuity in patient care as well as in instruction. 

For the disciplines not included in the LIC, students complete the remainder of their required clerkships in the greater Washington, DC area.

Students apply for the program in their second year outside of the lottery process explained below. Up to 12 students can participate in one year for the Baltimore LIC, and up to 6 for the DC Health Equity LIC.  For the Baltimore LIC, furnished housing is provided close to the Medical Center for participating students.

The Lottery

In order to assign students to a particular clerkship at a particular time, students undergo a lottery process composed of a series of surveys listing their listing their lottery preferences. Exact details of the Lottery System for any given year can be found on student’s Journeys Clinical Canvas page.

  1. The first lottery is that of choosing a lottery “stream” number that is linked to a particular permutation of clerkships throughout the academic year.
  2. Once a student’s “stream” has been established, students will undergo a quarterly lottery preference survey to solicit preferences for either site locations (GUH, WHC, VHC, etc.) or specific clerkship rotations (Neurosurgery, Plastics, PM&R, etc.)

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