The Committee on Student Evaluation and Promotion (COSEP)
The COSEP develops policies concerning student status, evaluation and promotion, reviews academic performance of students, and makes recommendations to the Dean concerning promotion and graduation, remedial actions, and dismissal of students. Please review the COSEP Policies and Procedures.
Student Records
The official academic record for each student is housed in the Office of the Registrar. Any name changes or other changes to a student’s record must be submitted through RU Office of the Registrar, which will notify the Office of Medical Student Programs (OMSP) of the change. For additional information, please see the Rush University (RU) Catalog.
Pre-clerkship (M1/M2) Information
Simulation-Based Instruction and Assessment
The curriculum is experienced through a variety of active-learning instructional methods including simulation. Some simulation experiences include manikins or partial task trainers, while others include case scenarios portrayed by simulated patients (SP) educators. SPs are trained to portray case scenarios created to meet various learning objectives. Case scenarios are written by physicians or professionals with content expertise in a given area. SPs are trained to facilitate individualized feedback to medical students regarding clinical skills, interpersonal skills, and professionalism, and represent a patient’s perspective within the curriculum.
Students should treat SPs as they would real patients.
Simulation activities are used for both teaching and feedback (formative) and for formal assessment (summative) events. One typical simulation assessment format is the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). In an OSCE, students rotate from one patient encounter to another. Other tasks such as writing a patient note or presenting a case orally may also be included. Whenever possible, simulation activities are structured in a format similar to the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) examination.
Case scenarios should be discussed only in the context of formal feedback (e.g., when discussing the case with a Communicator/Practitioner faculty member). Case scenarios or other testing information should not be discussed with other students.
Most simulation activities are video recorded in an online portal called LearningSpace so that students can receive feedback, review their own performances, and track improvement in performance over time. Videos may also be used for the OMSP quality assurance or training purposes.
All simulation-based instruction and assessment events are mandatory.
Scheduling for Simulation Events
Some simulation events occur in the evenings or on the weekends, though this is rare. All simulation events are listed on the master calendar. While simulation events may take place over multiple days, each student is only required to attend during their individually scheduled appointment.
An online program (SignUpGenius.com) is used for students to choose their own appointment times within the constraints of their individual schedules. This is communicated with students via Entrada at the beginning of each course. If a scheduling conflict is identified after Sign Up, two students may request a schedule exchange through a joint email proposing to swap appointment times. The Simulation Education Coordinator will review the request and notify the students if the change has been approved. The deadline for submitting schedule exchange proposals is 1 week prior to the beginning of the event.
If, after the calendar is released, a conflict arises that cannot be solved by a schedule exchange, the student must contact the Simulation Education Manager immediately. An excused absence or rescheduled slot is not guaranteed, but may be granted, in accordance with the Attendance Policy in the Student Guidebook.
All Simulation events take place in the Rush Center for Clinical Skills and Simulation (RCCSS) on the first floor of the Jelke building. This new space can be accessed via Elevator E.
Year Two Questionnaire (Y2Q)
The Y2Q is an annual survey administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to all second-year medical students in the fall. Students are asked to share thoughts on their medical school experience to that point. Surveys are confidential and participation is voluntary, but this is a very important way in which Rush learns from students about what is and is not working in the curriculum. Results of the Y2Q help drive change.
Photos for Identification
Students are required to have photos taken for identification purposes. Students should dress professionally. Photos are uploaded to appropriate systems to assist faculty and coordinators in the evaluation process during clinical clerkships. Students may also choose to use these photos during the residency application process.
M3 Clerkship
Lottery and Transportation
Students participate in three lotteries at the end of their M2 year in this order:
- The M3 Grid Lottery determines the order of M3 core clerkships
- The M3 Sites Lottery determines the rotation site for each of the M3 core clerkships
- The M3 Elective Lottery allows students to fill the 6 weeks of elective space in the M3 calendar with elective rotations normally taken in the M4 year
Only those students actively enrolled at RMC during the term in which the lottery is held are eligible to participate. Students on a leave of absence (LOA) will have schedules created by the OMSP when the terms and conditions of the LOA have been fulfilled.
There are various modes of transportation available to RMC students. Refer to the Transportation section.
CRASH
The orientation course for the third year, currently called “CRASH” (Clinical Resources And Skills for the Hospital), occurs at the beginning of the M3 year; attendance is required. During the intensive sessions in the course, students learn various practical skills and technology programs which student will use. EPIC training is provided during CRASH.
Pagers
Rush pagers are distributed to students during CRASH. Students must respond to pages in a timely manner, are responsible for maintaining batteries for pagers, and expected to turn in pagers prior to graduation. If lost, students must contact Telecommunications at (312) 942-5650 and pay a fee of $50 for a replacement. If the pager is stolen, students must supply a copy of the police or security report and a new pager will be issued free of charge.
M4 Clerkship Information
M4 Lottery
M3 students participate in two lotteries at the end of the M3 year:
- The M4 Core/Sub-I Lottery for the Emergency Medicine core clerkship and one sub-internship (in Medicine, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, or Surgery)
- The M4 Elective Lottery
Scheduling Clerkships and Electives
M4 students participate in the M4 elective lottery, after which students have the opportunity to add and drop electives through OASIS and to schedule electives at other institutions accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). For details, please refer to the Elective Common Syllabus.
Only those students actively enrolled at RMC during the term in which the lottery is held are eligible to participate. Students on LOA will have schedules created by the OMSP when the terms and conditions of the LOA have been fulfilled.
There are various modes of transportation available to RMC students. Refer to the Transportation section.
VSAS and Other Away Electives
The Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) is supported by the AAMC is used to process student applications to schools participating in VSAS. Students should first visit www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/vsas to determine if the institution they wish to visit is available through VSAS. For those institutions that do not participate in VSAS, RMC processes applications manually (please contact RMC_Clinical@rush.edu). The following information is needed in order to apply for away electives:
- Away Clerkship Approval Form for each school/institution to which the student is applying.
- VSAS authorizations: contact RMC_Clinical@rush.edu.
- Photograph: contact RMC_Clinical@rush.edu.
- Immunizations: must be requested from Lifetime Medical Associates (LMA) and uploaded by the student.
- Transcript: must be ordered from the Registrar in 440 AAC. Please request that the transcript be sent to the OMSP to upload to VSAS.
- Letter of recommendation: the letter writer should send an electronic copy directly to RMC_Clinical@rush.edu to upload.
- Drug Screen: a one-time drug screen is performed upon matriculation. If an updated drug screen is required, please contact RMC_Clinical@rush.edu for instructions.
- Criminal Background Check: a one-time criminal background check is performed at the time of acceptance. If an updated background check is required, please contact RMC_Clinical@rush.edu for instructions.
- Affiliation Agreements: an affiliation agreement between Rush and the requested school or hospital must be in place. The execution of the agreement will not begin until a student has been offered and accepted to an away clerkship. The execution of the agreements can take several months. Therefore it is strongly recommended that students have a backup elective in place at Rush for each away elective.
The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)
The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is created for every student during the M4 year. This assessment reflects the performance of the student across the M1-M3 years of the curriculum, and commonly includes narrative descriptions of clerkship performance, as well as graphs and tables depicting the student’s performance relative to his/her peers. It is submitted, on the student’s behalf, to the Electronic Residency and Application Service (ERAS), which is the platform through which M4 students apply to residency programs.
The MSPE is created by the staff and faculty of the OMSP. If a student identifies a conflict of interest relating to the MSPE author, another faculty member within the dean’s office assumes responsibility for that student’s MSPE. Each student is asked to review his/her MSPE for factual accuracy in late August/early September of the M4 year, prior to submission to ERAS.
Match
National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)
The NRMP is the national program that matches senior medical students with residency training programs. The Match process requires input from both students and residency programs, and uses an algorithm to assign the student to a program, based on their priority rankings. See http://www.nrmp.org.
Early Match
This term refers to the process used by residency programs in Ophthalmology and Urology to match M4 students into these training programs. This “early match” occurs in January, several months prior to the main match run by the NRMP. Students applying in these fields have earlier application deadlines. The Ophthalmology process is organized by the San Francisco Match (http://www.sfmatch.org) and the Urology process is organized by the American Urological Association (http://www.auanet.org).
Match for Students in the Military
There is a separate match process for students in the military. This match occurs in December, several months prior to the main match run by the NRMP. Students applying to the military have an earlier application deadline. For more details see http://www.militarygme.org.
Graduation Questionnaire (GQ)
The GQ is an annual survey administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to all graduating medical students across the country. Students have the opportunity to share their opinions about their undergraduate medical education and experience. The results of this survey are used by the OMSP and the Committee on Curriculum and Evaluation (CCE) to make changes to the curriculum.
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