All students are scheduled and graduate on time unless they take extended leaves of absence, or placed on a Monitored Academic Status or have academic difficulties. XUSOM continues to have enough clinical places to make sure that all students can complete their clinical curriculum and graduate on time. Students should not become overly concerned with clinical placements. A future career in medicine - for example, the ability to obtain a residency program in the US - will depend on a student’s academic record and personal characteristics. The placement of the student in a clinical rotation at a particular hospital, or the order in which they do rotations does not play a significant role when compared to United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step I and II performance, grades, letters of recommendation (LOR), Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE), personal statements and interviews.
While the school appreciates that some assignments or schedules may be inconvenient, our priorities are to assure that all students are placed, that they are all afforded an opportunity for clinical training and that agreements with our affiliated hospitals are fulfilled. XUSOM considers all of our hospitals substantially equivalent in terms of the educational experiences they provide. Detailed information about each hospital will not enable students to make a rational decision about whether an individual hospital is best for any individual student. In the US, the main reason for a student to choose one geographical area over another relates to convenience in terms of living arrangements or being close to home.
Prior to Orientation the school sends students a list of available US hospitals to the class, by geographical area that is available for placement. Only the hospitals on that list are available to each class for starting core rotations. Students that do not start on time and take a leave of absence (LOA), will be placed based on hospital availability. However, taking an LOA instead of starting on time will be recorded in students’ transcripts and MSPE. Residency program directors may look unfavorably on LOA’s.
Students may communicate their rotation preference to the Office of Clinical Science. The Office of Clinical Science will attempt to accommodate these requests on an individual basis.
U.S. CLINICAL PLACEMENT
The placement process begins after promotion to the Clinical Program and consists of the following process:
- After Passing USMLE Step 1, XUSOM student will receive an email from our clinical department to welcome them into the clinical rotation; a webinar orientation will be scheduled shortly after Students will receive an invitation email to register for the clinical orientation webinar.
- All clinical students will start with an eight week Introduction to Clinical Research elective, located at Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in Philadelphia, followed by a four week FM1/IM1 elective for hands-on clinical introduction to the US healthcare system.
- Under no circumstances should a student arrive at any hospital until receiving a confirmation email; to do so is contrary to school and hospital policy and, in some cases, they violate state regulations.
- Students assigned to a NY hospital must submit completed NYS paperwork to the Office of Clinical Science. This consists of:
- NYS Infection Control Certificate
- $20 Check or Money order, payable to the NYSED
- NYSED Long-Term Clerkship Application Form
Xavier University School of Medicine is approved by the New York State Education Department. This allows our students to complete all their weeks of clinical training in affiliated New York teaching hospitals and our graduates to enter Residency training in New York.
Once you receive your Step 1 score, you need to contact ECFMG to mail us a copy of your score. Once we have received all required clinical documents, you will receive a confirmation email about your next assignment.
The Office of Clinical science assigns all students rotations. We cannot guarantee that your placement will be according to your requests. In all cases the clinical placement coordinators will review the information and make a decision based on availability and your records.
Students who fail USMLE Step I or take a LOA should notify the Office of Clinical Science when they intend to return from leave, or pass USMLE Step I, and are eligible to be placed. The school will place them based on hospital availability.
THE CONFIRMATION PROCESS
After satisfactorily completing all Basic Science requirements, students must:
- Be in financial good standing
- Have health insurance
- Have their XUSOM clinical documents cleared by the Clinical Science department. All documents must be completed prior to starting any rotation.
All students must complete national criminal background check. For students who have a US Social Security number, we recommend using Integrascan, an online instant background check.
As described above, students placed in NY hospitals must complete additional paperwork which will be included with your placement notification.
FINAL NOTE
Please continually check your XUSOM email account for updates and instructions. Students who do not start on time must stay in contact with the Office of Clinical Science, regarding the entire placement process.