CLINICAL SCIENCES CURRICULUM: YEARS 3 AND 4

What are Clinical Rotations?

During years three and four of the MD program, you will complete clinical rotations at hospitals in the U.S. During these rotations, you will receive basic instruction in the major medical specialties and get hands-on experience with patients.

Clinical rotations in medical school provide you with supervised experience working with patients. They also provide you with the opportunity to identify the medical specialty that most appeals to you.

During your rotations, you will be a part of a medical team led by an attending physician that also includes residents (doctors-in-training) and interns (first-year residents).

Clinical training is both exciting and challenging. And as you gain firsthand experience working in hospitals, you’ll continue to benefit from the support of your dedicated team of Ross Med advisers.

Dive Deep in One Location

While many medical students move from city to city to complete clinical training at different hospitals, Ross Med students have the option to remain in one location throughout the core Clinical Education curriculum. This can allow you to concentrate fully on your medical school training—without the hassles and expenses of moving.

Securing Your Clinical Placement

During year two of your Medical Sciences curriculum, you will work with the Office of Career Advisement to secure your clinical placement in a teaching hospital.

You will apply to teaching hospitals in a graded preference system. Your options will be based on factors that include academic performance, available space, location, and elective and specialty interests.

Clinical Training Locations

You’ll complete your clinical training at one or more of 22+ teaching hospitals in the United States.

Clinical Return Home Offer

Spend your first two years in Barbados and return to your hometown for clinical training through our Clinical Return Home Offer.

Ross Med is guaranteeing qualifying students a limited number of Year 3 core clerkships at five of our regional affiliate hospitals in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Pontiac, MI.* This is an opportunity for aspiring students who would like to eventually practice in their home community.

*There is a limited number of guaranteed spots available at each site per term, and Ross Med cannot guarantee that all eligible students will be placed at the designated site in their home area. In addition to applying to Ross Med, being accepted, and paying the seat deposit before guaranteed clerkship seats are filled, students must meet all eligibility requirements listed below. Ross Med offers three start dates per year in January, May, and September. New seats will become available for each start. An applicant may have the option to choose a later start if spots have been filled.

Learn How to Return Home

Return to New York

Spend your first two years in Barbados and return to New York for clinical training through our Clinical Return Home Offer.

Ross Med is guaranteeing qualifying students a limited number of Year 3 core clerkships at St. John's Episcopal Hospital, Queens, New York^*. This is an opportunity for aspiring students who would like to eventually practice in their home community. Gain a global perspective and make a local impact when you enroll at Ross Med.

Learn How to Return Home

*There is a limited number of guaranteed spots available at each site per term, and Ross Med cannot guarantee that all eligible students will be placed at the designated site in their home area. In addition to applying to Ross Med, being accepted, and paying the seat deposit before guaranteed clerkship seats are filled, students must meet all eligibility requirements listed below. Ross Med offers three start dates per year in January, May, and September. New seats will become available for each start. An applicant may have the option to choose a later start if spots have been filled.

Return to Florida

Spend your first two years in Barbados and return to Florida for clinical training through our Clinical Return Home Offer.

Ross Med is guaranteeing qualifying students a limited number of Year 3 core clerkships at Center for Haitian Studies in Miami, Florida.* This is an opportunity for aspiring students who would like to eventually practice in their home community. Gain a global perspective and make a local impact when you enroll at Ross Med.

Learn How to Return Home

*There is a limited number of guaranteed spots available at each site per term, and Ross Med cannot guarantee that all eligible students will be placed at the designated site in their home area. In addition to applying to Ross Med, being accepted, and paying the seat deposit before guaranteed clerkship seats are filled, students must meet all eligibility requirements listed below. Ross Med offers three start dates per year in January, May, and September. New seats will become available for each start. An applicant may have the option to choose a later start if spots have been filled.

Return to Michigan

Spend your first two years in Barbados and return to Michigan for clinical training through our Clinical Return Home Offer.

Ross Med is guaranteeing qualifying students a limited number of Year 3 core clerkships at Trinity Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan.* This is an opportunity for aspiring students who would like to eventually practice in their home community. Gain a global perspective and make a local impact when you enroll at Ross Med.

Learn How to Return Home

*There is a limited number of guaranteed spots available at each site per term, and Ross Med cannot guarantee that all eligible students will be placed at the designated site in their home area. In addition to applying to Ross Med, being accepted, and paying the seat deposit before guaranteed clerkship seats are filled, students must meet all eligibility requirements listed below. Ross Med offers three start dates per year in January, May, and September. New seats will become available for each start. An applicant may have the option to choose a later start if spots have been filled.

Return to California

Spend your first two years in Barbados and return to California for clinical training through our Clinical Return Home Offer.

Ross Med is guaranteeing qualifying students a limited number of Year 3 core clerkships at California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.* This is an opportunity for aspiring students who would like to eventually practice in their home community. Gain a global perspective and make a local impact when you enroll at Ross Med.

Learn How to Return Home

*There is a limited number of guaranteed spots available at each site per term, and Ross Med cannot guarantee that all eligible students will be placed at the designated site in their home area. In addition to applying to Ross Med, being accepted, and paying the seat deposit before guaranteed clerkship seats are filled, students must meet all eligibility requirements listed below. Ross Med offers three start dates per year in January, May, and September. New seats will become available for each start. An applicant may have the option to choose a later start if spots have been filled.

Return to Illinois

Spend your first two years in Barbados and return to Illinois for clinical training through our Clinical Return Home Offer.

Ross Med is guaranteeing qualifying students a limited number of Year 3 core clerkships at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Chicago, Illinois.* This is an opportunity for aspiring students who would like to eventually practice in their home community. Gain a global perspective and make a local impact when you enroll at Ross Med.

Learn How to Return Home

*There is a limited number of guaranteed spots available at each site per term, and Ross Med cannot guarantee that all eligible students will be placed at the designated site in their home area. In addition to applying to Ross Med, being accepted, and paying the seat deposit before guaranteed clerkship seats are filled, students must meet all eligibility requirements listed below. Ross Med offers three start dates per year in January, May, and September. New seats will become available for each start. An applicant may have the option to choose a later start if spots have been filled.

Student Success and Support

As a Clinical Education student, you’ll continue to have access to the support of your Ross Med advising team throughout your rotations. Faculty supervise patient care and, along with Clinical chairs and Deans, serve as career advisors to prepare for residency attainment.

Your advising team includes:

Care/counseling team
Student Affairs
Clinical advisor(s)
Student finance advisors (including financial aid)
Registrar advisor
Career advisors
Professional residency application writer

How We Make Sure You're Ready

Students are automatically enrolled into our “Pathways to Step 1” course, which includes personalized advising and tutoring sessions and group reviews of USMLE^® practice questions to help you prepare for the Comprehensive Basic Science Exam and USMLE^® Step 1.

As you complete your core and elective clerkship rotations, we offer individual advising, National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME^®) practice exams, webinar sessions, and more.

Taking the USMLE^® Step 2

Once you’ve completed your core rotations—including the NBME Clinical Subject Examination for each core clerkship and the NBME Clinical Comprehensive Examination—you will be eligible to take the USMLE^® Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK).

Passing the USMLE^® Step 2 CK is required for Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certification, which allows you to participate in the National Resident Matching Program^®, the same residency match program as U.S. medical students, as an international medical graduate

Year 4: Elective Rotations

In the fourth and final year of medical school, you will continue your clinical training by diving deeper into your specialties of interest through 42 weeks of elective rotations. Each elective is four to eight weeks in length.

What Happens After Clinical Rotations?

Once you have successfully completed years three and four of your clinical rotations, you will prepare to take the USMLE^® Step 3 and move on to medical school residency.

The MATCH^® Process

The MATCH process officially begins at the beginning of your fourth year. Throughout the process, you will have the support and guidance of your Ross Med advising team as you:

Submit applications to residency programs.
Interview with program teams.
Create a Rank Order List (ROL) of preferred programs.
Wait while the National Resident Matching Program calculates results and releases them on Match Day in mid-March.

Upon graduation, you will be ready to begin your residency and embark on the next phase of your medical career.

Learn More About Ross Med Student Residencies

321 Cardiology	329 Nephrology
322 Critical Care Medicine	330 Oncology
323 Emergency Medicine	331 Pulmonary Disease
324 Endocrinology	332 Rheumatology
325 Gastroenterology	333 Rehabilitation Medicine
327 Infectious Disease	336 Sports Medicine
328 Allergy and Immunology	337 Tropical Medicine
338 Medicine Subinternship

611 Colon and Rectal Surgery	623 Ophthalmology
612 Neurological Surgery	626 Hand Surgery
613 Orthopedic Surgery	627 Surgical Subinternship
615 Plastic Surgery	628 Pediatric Surgery
617 Urology	640 Burn Surgery
618 Vascular Surgery	641 Shock Trauma Surgery
619 Otolaryngology	642 Cardiothoracic Surgery
620 Trauma Surgery

820 Neonatology	837 Intensive Care Unit
803 Neurological Pathology	839 Ob/ Gyn Anesthesia
805 Ambulatory Internal Medicine	840 Medical Ethics
806 Neurology	851 Pathology
807 Anesthesiology	853 Pediatric Infectious Disease
808 Emergency Room	854 Pediatric Genetics
812 Clinical Pathology	857 Preventive Medicine
813 Clinical Radiology	858 Primary Care
815 Radiation Oncology	859 Psychiatry Elective
816 Radiology	866 Substance Abuse
817 Dermatology	872 Pediatric Orthopedics
819 Public Health	873 Surgical Elective
821 Electrocardiography	875 Medicine Elective
822 Family Medicine Elective	877 Podiatry
825 General Surgery Elective	879 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
828 Hyperbaric Medicine/Wound Care	882 Pediatric Elective
830 Gynecological Surgery	892 Ob/ Gyn Elective
833 Perinatology	896 Adolescent Medicine
834 Infertility	897 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Clinical Rotations Curriculum

Overview