IU School of Medicine offers elective courses in clinical practice, professional development, career exploration, and advanced science research, which serve to widen the student’s involvement in their medical education, gain deeper insight into their field of choice and delve deeper into areas that may enhance their overall medical experience.
Questions?
Please reach out to the electives team by email.
Elective proposal and review process
The IU School of Medicine is always interested in supporting the development of new and innovative electives. If you are interested in pursuing the development of a new elective opportunity, please complete the steps below.
The approval process typically takes approximately one month from the time of proposal submission to reach final approval before the course number assignment and course catalog listings are established.
Step 1: Proposal submission
The course director (or designee) completes and submits an Elective Proposal Form.
- The proposal form includes the issues that you will need to think over and include in order for the elective to be approved. These include the overall design of the elective, the objectives, the working plans that should provide an idea of how the objectives will be met, who will be involved in the operations of the elective, a tentative schedule, how many students will be allowed at a time, any prerequisites that the students must have met in order to participate, and how the student will be assessed.
- Please refer to the frequently asked questions to learn more about the electives program and electives course requirements.
Submit an Elective Proposal Form
Step 2: Initial review
The proposal is received electronically by an MSE liaison (an Elective Sub-Committee representative) via the electives team email (iusmecat@iu.edu). The faculty appointment of the course director is verified and the proposal is reviewed for areas that may cause concern throughout the committee review/approval process. The MSE liaison communicates change recommendations to the proposal submitter/course director. Once updates occur, the proposal moves to the next step.
Step 3: Departmental review/approval
The proposal is sent to the appropriate vice chair of education or their designee for review/approval. If change recommendations are provided, then the MSE liaison fosters communication between parties. If approved, the proposal moves to the next step of the process.
Step 4: Elective sub-committee review/approval
The proposal is forwarded for review to a faculty member of the Elective Sub-Committee (ESC).
- If the elective is approved, the proposal moves to the next step of the process.
- If there are changes needed, the assigned team will contact the course director, copying the proposal submitter (if relevant) to discuss and approve proposed changes. Once these recommendations are approved by the course director, the proposal will receive a final review by the ESC member and, if approved, move to the next step.
Step 5: Course number assignment and notification
After final ESC approval, the course is routed to the registrar’s office for course number assignment. Following the course number assignment, the course information is added to the school's Electives Catalog. The course director, department chair, center director (if relevant), and proposal submitter (if relevant) are notified via email of the approval and provided the course number. Once the course is live in the Elective Catalog, the MSE liaison or designee then notifies the students via the student newsletter of the new elective(s) available.
Frequently asked questions
The description will be viewed by students in the Elective Catalog, where they make decisions about course selection. Content includes an overview of activities, expectations and assessments used during the elective.
Include activity information that students will be required to participate in when taking the elective. Information should include instructional setting(s), number of shifts/hours in clinic per week, laboratory work, weekly schedules, etc.
Any full-time physician or faculty member can be included in this category. They do not need to have a faculty appointment unless they are designated as a director or co-director of the course.
Six ACGME competencies (medical knowledge, patient care, systems-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism) are used to frame our Institutional Learning Objectives (ILO). The IU School of Medicine also has a new health equity, advocacy and leadership competency.
These ILOs will be linked to the Course Level Objectives (CLO) you create for your course. You can find additional information about writing objectives at Tips for Writing Student Learning Objectives and are welcome to contact iusmecat@iu.edu for additional assistance.
Below are examples organized by each competency. If you need others, please contact iusmecat@iu.edu.
Medical Knowledge (MK)
- Discuss the details of gross human anatomical structure and human embryology, and radiography as applied to the study of human structure (MK1).
- Recognize and differentiate etiologies of acute kidney injury (MK2)
- Describe the pathophysiology of acute and chronic pain (MK3).
- Justify the interventions used to diagnose and manage the most common skin diseases (MK4).
- Apply knowledge of general surgical diseases, differential diagnosis and treatment options by contributing to the care of patients (MK5).
- Evaluate the efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic options using the principles of evidence-based medicine (MK6).
- Describe the epidemiology of common diseases and identify methods for prevention and early detection of those diseases (MK7).
Patient Care (PC)
- Demonstrate the ability to perform a complete and relevant clinical history and physical examination (PC1).
- Formulate a differential diagnosis for a patient with a skin disease (PC2)
- Develop a plan of care (PC3).
- Perform the following procedures: KOH preparation, scraping for ectoparasites, skin biopsy, minor suturing, electrodessication (PC4).
- Demonstrate an appropriate transition of care between settings that minimizes the risk to patient safety (PC5).
Systems Based Practice (SBP)
- Demonstrate effective teamwork through collaboration with patients, families, and the patient care team (SBP1).
- Evaluate the impact of social determinants of health and incorporate those factors into patient care plans (SBP2).
- Explain fundamental features of health care policy (including funding, legal, and regulatory issues) both locally and nationally and the potential impact of policy changes on patients, underserved populations, and healthcare providers (SBP3).
- Contribute to a culture of healthcare and patient safety through compliance with institutional guidelines and protocols (SBP4).
- Explain the methods of justifying and distributing resources during the Management step of the Disaster Cycle (SBP5).
Practice Based Learning and Improvement (PBLI)
- Develop one high-quality educational module focusing on the clinical application of human structure (PBLI1).
- Apply new medical knowledge or learned skills and incorporate this into daily practice (PBLI2).
- Seek and demonstrate responsiveness to feedback from faculty and other healthcare professionals (PBLI3)
- Identify and apply healthy coping mechanisms in the management of stressful situations and patient encounters while on rotation (PBLI4).
Interpersonal and Communication Skills (ICS)
- Communicate effectively with patients and other members of the health care team (ISC1).
- Incorporate health promotion and patient education through elements of shared decision-making when communicating with patients (ICS2).
- Construct and deliver a 90-minute lecture to first-year medical students (ISC3).
- Create a scholarly abstract suitable for submission to a national or regional conference (ISC4).
Professionalism (P)
- Treat patients in a fair, unbiased, and non-judgmental manner (P1).
- Explain awareness of the need for culturally competent care oriented toward the growing Hispanic community of Indianapolis (P2).
- Describe the risks and benefits of surgical procedures and understanding of informed consent by obtaining surgical consent (P3).
- Recognize appropriate indications for reporting suspected abuse, work effectively with Child Protection Services and convey appropriate information to all involved persons (P3).
Health Equity, Advocacy, and Leadership (HEAL)
- Brainstorm strategies to eliminate barriers to health equity (HEAL1)
- Demonstrate an awareness of the cultural identities (e.g. race, ethnicity, religion, native language, etc.) of the patients encountered on service. Reflect on how your patients’ cultural identities differ from your own and how these differences may impact health care decision-making. Develop relationships with all individuals that are founded in compassion and mutual respect (HEAL2)
- Provide patient education, resources, or support services based on identified patient needs (HEAL3)
Course directors can decide the various modes of assessment to use as part of their course. Examples may include observation, oral exam, written exam, logbook entries, case presentation, oral presentation, written essay, discussion with faculty, etc. However, every course is required to use a standard evaluation form based on the course type. The course type for your elective (i.e. Professional Development, Clinical Practice, etc.) will determine the standard evaluation form that must be used. For samples of the standard evaluation forms, please see the forms linked on the Elective Proposal Form.
No, all elective course directors must have a current and active faculty appointment. If not already an IU School of Medicine faculty member, you can apply for one via the volunteer faculty appointment process. If you previously had a faculty appointment but are not currently an active faculty member, you will need to re-apply for a faculty appointment before you can be designated as a course director.
No, “Clinical Practice” and “Advanced Clinical” electives must include clinical work as a primary component.