MD Program ~ Curriculum ~ Electives

The School of Medicine curriculum, in the second half of year one and all of year two, has two afternoons per week of dedicated time for students to either complete an elective, or use the time for classes in public health as part of the MD/MPH program.  The electives provide an opportunity to explore areas of interest which can be in the basic or clinical sciences or this time can also be used for research-based electives.

Tulane medical students are required to take ONE elective in their first two years. This requirement can also be fulfilled by coursework in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. The elective may be taken in either the first or second year. Electives offerings are structured around a particular session schedule for the Academic Year.

Students must fill in the following form (also displayed in E-Medley).

To access the descriptions of the electives, as well as the session schedule, please go to E-Medley, the Curriclum website for course evaluation, curriculum management, and course registration.

1. Go to: https://he.emedley.com/tu
2. Login using your Tulane Username and Password
3. Go to Didactic->Curriculum Website
   
4. Scroll down to T1/T2 Electives and click click on the link
   
5. To access the registration form, see the forms link in E-Medley
   

Students must complete 24 weeks of electives during the clinical curriculum, predominantly in year 4.  The only exception is for students in the MD/MPH program, who are exempt for the 4-week Community Health requirement (MED4409), but who must complete 28 weeks of electives: MD/MPH students may earn elective credit for their required MD/MPH rotation (see the MD/MPH program office for more information about the MD/MPH rotation).  Electives provide an excellent opportunity to help explore, confirm or prepare for one’s specialty choice. In preparation for registering for Year 4, all students should review and have their planned courses and electives approved by their advisor and/or specialty advisor.  Students who would like to choose “extramural” electives must follow required guidelines for approval. Click here to access  

Changes to clerkships, rotations, and/or electives must be requested at least 30 days prior to their start. 

To access the descriptions of the electives, please go to E-Medley, the Curriclum website for course evaluation, curriculum management, and course registration.

1. Go to: https://he.emedley.com/tu
2. Login using your Tulane Username and Password
3. Go to Didactic->Curriculum Website
   
4. Scroll down to T4 Electives and click on the link
   
5. Result:
   

Policy/Procedures for Creating a New Elective

 Elective Subcommittee

The Elective Subcommittee is comprised of School of Medicine faculty and educational/administrative staff. It was established by the Curriculum Committee to provide effective oversight of elective courses and to review new elective proposals. The Subcommittee ensures that electives are relevant to the overall curriculum and consistent with the School of Medicine’s Institutional Objectives and accreditation requirements.

Proposing a New Elective

To be considered for approval, electives must meet the following criteria:

1. Nature of the elective - Content and experience must support student development of knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes central to the goals of the medical education curriculum.
2. Oversight – Must be sponsored by a TUSOM faculty member
3. Time – For preclinical electives, minimum contact time is one hour per week. For clinical electives, minimum contact time and/or documented effort is 30 hours per week of credit (i.e., 60 hours for 2-weeks of credit).
4. Attendance – Must have an attendance policy (i.e., required attendance at 80% of in-class sessions or completion of 100% of online modules).
5. Goals and Objectives – Must have overall goals and objectives. The objectives should map to the School of Medicine’s institutional competencies.
6. Assessment – The assessments administered during the elective must demonstrate that the student has met the course objectives. The responsible faculty member must submit all grades to the registrar’s office within two weeks of completion of the elective.

Elective Review Process

1. Complete the Elective Proposal form in its entirety. Once you have read through the elective criteria and process, click the green box below to access links to the proposal forms. Use the Pre-Clinical form for T1/T2 electives and the Clinical form for T3/T4 electives.
2. You must obtain the Chair’s approval/signature for preclinical (T1/T2 electives) and the Clerkship Director’s approval/signature for clinical (T3/T4 electives).
3. Submit the proposal via email to the Office of Medical Education (ome@tulane.edu).
4. Upon receipt by the Office of Medical Education, the proposal will be:
   
   1. Forwarded to the Elective Subcommittee Chair and sent to the Elective Subcommittee for review
   2. If needed, the proposal will be returned for clarifications/revisions
5. Once approved by the Elective Subcommittee, the elective proposal will be presented by the Subcommittee Chair to the Curriculum Committee for approval. If the Curriculum Committee requests clarifications/modifications, the proposal will be returned to the proposal submitter; the revised proposal will then be presented again to the Curriculum Committee at the next monthly meeting. 
6. You should anticipate a minimum of a one-month turnaround. Proposals should be submitted by the 15^th of the month to ensure there is enough time for the Subcommittee to review prior to the next month’s Curriculum Committee meeting. 
7.  Once approved by the Curriculum Committee, the Subcommittee Chair will notify:
   
   1. The faculty advisor/contact person of the proposed elective
   2. Kim Melerine in the Office of Admissions & Student Affairs.  Ms. Melerine will create the elective offering in Banner.
   3. The Office of Medical Education. The OME will add the elective to eMedley so viewable by students in the elective catalog.
8. If the elective requires updates, submit all changes to those indicated below. If changes are substantive, they will be forwarded to the Elective Subcommittee for further review.
   
   1. The Office of Medical Education
   2. Ms. Kim Melerine in the Office of Student Affairs

 Questions?

Office of Medical Education
504-988-6600
ome@tulane.edu

Kim Melerine
Office of Admissions and Student Affairs
504-988-2222
kmeleri@tulane.edu